Family week

CEBU, Philippines - You can have a long list of what to do on Family Week, but there is nothing quite like eating a meal together.

Nowadays, chow time with all members of the family is already a luxury. Father reports to work as early as 7 a.m., and even on special working holidays, while the children are still asleep. Some mommies work at night time like in hospitals, hotels, and call centers that they often lose precious family time.

According to writer Lindsay Seaman of Eartheasy (Solutions to sustainable living), “eating together as a family is more important today than in the past because there are more competing distractions.”

People get distracted because of the many choices of activities outside the home. Some prefer fast food over home-cooked meals to save time. And even when everyone is home, individuals do their own thing.

“Perhaps the only opportunity of the day to talk with each other is at the dinner table,” this is the idea of the observance of National Family Week here.

The National Committee on the Filipino Family chaired by the Department of Social Welfare and Development will observe September 22 - 30 as the “National Family Week” with the theme “Ensuring work-family balance.”

The activity aims to strengthen the family unity and relationships through meaningful celebration and promotion of Filipino values. (FREEMAN)