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Supporting The Goals And IDeals OF A National Children And Families Day

Floor Speech

Date: March 6, 2007
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Family


SUPPORTING THE GOALS AND IDEALS OF A NATIONAL CHILDREN AND FAMILIES DAY -- (House of Representatives - March 06, 2007)

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Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H. Con. Res. 62, which supports the goals and ideals of National Children and Families Day. The purpose of H. Con. Res. 62 is to encourage adults to listen to children and to help children throughout the Nation achieve their hopes and dreams, and for other purposes.

As Chair of the Children's Caucus, I strongly believe that we must continue creating positive and effective support systems for our children so that they will become healthy, productive citizens. To do this, we must ensure that all of our children have access to quality education and healthcare. We must also give quality time to our children.

Mr. Speaker, National Children and Families Day encourages parents to spend time with their children and to spend time together around the dinner table.

Our young children are increasingly facing monumental challenges such as drug and alcohol addiction, pregnancy, depression, and obesity. We must invest the time and money in the necessary resources needed to help our children combat these challenges. I recently hosted a briefing, ``Childhood Obesity: Factors that are Impacting the Disproportionate Prevalence in Low-Income and Minority Communities,'' to discuss the causes of, and search for solutions to the childhood obesity epidemic. Eating dinner at the dinner table with parents is one of the suggested ways children may develop healthier eating habits.

According to research by The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University, the more often children eat dinner with their families, the less likely they are to smoke, drink or use drugs. The research suggested that the conversations that go hand-in-hand with dinner will help parents learn more about their children's lives and better understand the challenges they face.

Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge my colleagues to support H. Con. Res. 62 to support the goals and ideals of a National Children and Families Day.

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