Prepped & Ready joins
DRUG FREE CHARLOTTE COUNTY
in promoting FAMILY DAY - SEPTEMBER 24, 2007

When you are parenting a teen, you are always wishing for that 100% guaranteed - absolute without a doubt - sure fire way to safeguard your teen from harm.  Keeping your teen drug free is something every parent worries about!  Unfortunately there are no silver bullets; teen substance abuse can strike any family. 

But if someone told you "Hey, you can tip the scales in the right direction", "You can better the odds significantly", "You can make drug free the most likely outcome" then wouldn't you just jump all over that?  

The one factor that does more to reduce teens' substance abuse than any other is parental engagement!  And one of the simplest and most effective ways for parents to be engaged in their teens lives is by having frequent family dinners!  

The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) has consistently found that the more often children eat dinner with their families, the less likely they are to smoke, drink or use illegal drugs!  

Teens who have frequent family dinners are at 70% lower risk for substance abuse; half as likely to try cigarettes or marijuana; one third less likely to try alcohol; half as likely to get drunk monthly and almost 40% likelier to say future drug use will never happen!  The report also found that teens who have frequent family dinners are likelier to get better grades in school and likelier to have parents who take responsiblity for teen drug use. 

On July 23rd, the City of Punta Gorda joined more than 600 cities in 48 states in proclaiming September 24th  Family Day - A day to Eat Dinner with Your Children!

Family Dinner has always been a priority at Prepped & Ready.  It's what we are all about - We make supper simple!  The number one reason teens and parents say they don't eat together is because they are just too busy!  To busy to plan, to shop for and to prepare a meal!  Sorry, but we are taking that excuse off the table!!!!  At Prepped & Ready you can prepare 12 family size entrees in less than two hours!  That's just 10 minutes per entree!  Now who doesn't have time for that?  And if eating more family dinners yields a drug free teen - then believe me....it'll be the best money you've ever spent!

Buy yourself some family time - your kids are worth it!    

When you register for a Prepped & Ready Session during the months of September or October Prepped & Ready will donate 5% of your registration fee to the Drug Free Charlotte County Coalition and 5% to your school's Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) for drug-free initiatives at your child's school.

There's never been a better time to try Prepped & Ready! 

To qualify your child's school PTO for this donation, register for your Prepped & Ready session on-line and write the name of your child's school in the box that says "Enter Promotional Code".