Melissa d'Arabian
Photo courtesy of Food Network
"As a Coronado mother of four young girls, I am excited to partner with Coronado SAFE to celebrate Family Day 2011. Family Day is a national movement that encourages frequent family dinners as a way to help keep our kids safe, happy, and healthy. On Monday, Sept. 26, I encourage you and your family to participate in this nationwide celebration by not only eating dinner together, but making dinner together. Cooking and eating with my kids strengthens our relationship, fosters open lines of communication, and builds their self-esteem. Spending dinnertime together is one of the most valuable ways I can connect with my children. Join me in the celebration, and make every day a Family Day."
—Melissa d'Arabian
Coronado SAFE Celebrates Family Day 2011 With Food Network Host Melissa d'Arabian
d'Arabian Named Local Family Day Spokesperson
Coronado SAFE (Student and Family Enrichment) is excited to announce Food Network Host Melissa d'Arabian as the local spokesperson for the nationwide celebration of Family Day on September 26, 2011.
d'Arabian, new Coronado resident and host of the popular Food Network show “Ten Dollar Dinners,” has partnered with Coronado SAFE to share her favorite family-friendly recipes in an effort to bring families together, both in the kitchen and around the dinner table. From Saturday, Sept. 24 through Monday, Sept. 26, three of d'Arabian's recipes will be available at Family Day display stands in three Coronado grocery stores, Vons, Albertsons and Boney's Bayside Market. Parents can also pick-up useful information about Family Day and a list of age-appropriate tasks for children during dinner preparation.
“As a Coronado mother of four young girls, I am excited to partner with Coronado SAFE to celebrate Family Day 2011,” d’Arabian said in a statement. “On Monday, Sept. 26, I encourage you and your family to participate in this nationwide celebration by not only eating dinner together, but making dinner together.”
Families are also encouraged to share their Family Day experiences in the kitchen by uploading their photos, stories and videos to www.eCoronado.com/familyday. The three submissions that best illustrate the theme of this year’s Family Day will receive a kid-friendly cooking and baking basket.
Family Day, launched in 2001 by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, is a nationwide movement that encourages parents to regularly eat dinner with their children. Research has shown that the benefits of eating dinner together include boosting children’s self-esteem, decreasing the risk of substance abuse and strengthening lines of communication between parent and child.
“Spending dinnertime together is one of the most valuable ways I can connect to my children,” d’Arabian said. She said she hopes the consistency of having regular dinners together will enable her to identify changes in her kids in the future. “When do you get a sense of what’s normal, so you can see what’s not normal?” she said.
“Melissa’s outlook on life and parenting truly embodies the mission of Coronado SAFE,” said Coronado SAFE Executive Director Andrea Webster. “Melissa knows what actions lead to a happy, healthy life for herself and her family, and she lives each day with that in mind.”
Whether it’s riding bikes, taking a walk, reading a bedtime story or making dinner together, d’Arabian said she makes sure to spend dedicated time with her children on a regular basis. Family Day is about spending time together and keeping children safe, happy and healthy, she said. “Join me in the celebration, and make every day a Family Day."
Submitted by Madison Webb, Coronado SAFE
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