JASA SANTOS Star-Tribune staff writer | Posted: Thursday, September 25, 2008 12:00 am
When 3-year-old Daijalyn Barnett-Hines is at home, her mother Kira Barnett can hardly find enough family activities for the two of them to do together. Daijalyn wants to be a part of everything - sweeping, cooking or just curling up with her mother.
"She loves to read," Barnett said, adding that watching Dora the Explorer is also a favorite family pastime.
Monday was the Wyoming First Lady's Family Night, an event that promotes families spending time together. Natrona County Head Start hosted a dinner for its families on Monday in honor of fourth annual Family Night.
"I came so I could see her school, and be a part of it, and show her that I care," Barnett said. "I think it's awesome. I think families hope that someone is going to support them."
Families lined up outside the Head Start building to enjoy dinner with each other and receive kits with this year's game, Quest Through the West. The game offered families a Wyoming history lesson and the chance to bond while learning something new.
Family Night is sponsored by the Wyoming Department of Family Services, Wyoming Healthy Marriage Initiative, We Draw the Line Campaign, Gov. Dave and First Lady Nancy Freudenthal and the Wyoming Department of Health.
Natrona County Head Start assistant coordinator Tricia Hiatt said the center promotes what eating family-style means to their students. Breakfast and lunch are shared meals everyday, and teachers converse with students as they eat.
But enjoying family-style meals outside of Head Start has several benefits, Hiatt said. Children and teenagers who eat dinner with their families are less likely to smoke, drink and do drugs, have lower levels of tension and stress at home, and are more likely to say their parents are proud of them.
"It reduces a lot of risks for children as they grow older," Hiatt said.
Sauina Mason and Howard Martindale said family time in their home means spending time at the lake, heading to the park or slowly learning to ride bikes. Monday's dinner at Head Start was another way for the family to spend some quality time together.
"It's just something to do, and get the family out of the house," Mason said.
"We're enjoying an activity with our daughters," Martindale said.
Reach education reporter Jasa Santos at (307) 266-0593 or at Jasa.Santos@trib.com
Need a new family game?
To order a free Family Night kit, complete with a Quest Through the West game, go to wyofams.org/family_night.asp.
To order a free Family Night kit, complete with a Quest Through the West game, go to wyofams.org/family_night.asp.]]->