On October 7, over 400 people gathered at the Kanab Center with the Kane Community Coalition for their 10th annual Family Fun Night. Using funds provided by the Kane County Commission, the Kane Community Coalition holds this annual event to help support families prevent underage drinking and substance use. This year, to celebrate a decade of success in our community, the event included not just free dinner, pumpkin decorating and other family fun, but also an inflatable obstacle course and bounce house, with many fun prizes.
Photos courtesy of Kane Community Coalition.
The main goal of Family Fun Night is to give parents in the community the tools they need to successfully keep their kids alcohol and substance free. Student volunteers from the Kane Community Youth Coalition (KCYC) volunteered to man three booths, each with a specific goal. First, the Bonding booth provided parents with strategies to enrich their relationships with their children. Building strong relationships and bonding with children is the first step to help keep kids substance and alcohol free. Each family unit was given a conversation jar and conversation starters as a fun tool to use with their family. Here they also discussed the foundation of prevention, which begins with spending quality time as a family - like having family dinner together. Regular family dinner is a key ingredient to help prevent underage drinking.
At the second booth, the Boundaries booth, parents learned that strong parental disapproval is the number one way to prevent underage drinking, and that nine years old is not too young to start having these important conversations. They were given paperwork to help set up clear rules for their house, with the first rule filled in as: “I will protect my brain and stay alcohol free”. Parents and youth also learned some of the negative and long-lasting effects that underage drinking can have on the brain, such as impacting the brain’s ability to reason and process information.
At the third booth, the Monitoring booth, parents learned that asking the Five W’s - 1. Where are you going? 2. What will you be doing? 3. Who will you be with? 4. When will you be home? 5. Will there be alcohol? - can make all the difference in whether their child makes the choice to stay alcohol free. Many parents reported being more prepared to help their children make smart choices.
The event was a huge success! The Kane Community Coalition would like to thank so many wonderful volunteers who helped make it happen, and we hope to see everyone and more next year! To learn more about how you can help your kids stay substance and alcohol free go to parentsempowered.org.