November 12, 2004

United Way’s Engaging Families Initiative Stacks the Deck for Family Time

Innovative Activity Cards Offer Communication Tips for Parents and Children

Taylor Little (left), 5-1/2 years old, joined his father, United Way of Massachusetts Bay President and CEO Milton Little, Jr. (right), at the launch of United Way's Engaging Families Initiative Deck of Cards, which took place at the Children's Museum. "Taylor has enjoyed bedtime with a card a night," Milton later reported. A father and his daughter enjoy a brown-bag dinner at the launch. More than 275 children and parents attended the event, enjoying dinner together before exploring the Deck of Cards. Some children wanted to make sure their parents also took time to eat during dinner. Children met up with friends and made new ones after dinner, when they were free to explore all that the Children's Museum had to offer.

BOSTON -- United Way of Massachusetts Bay’s (UWMB) Engaging Families Initiative (EFI) launched its innovative EFI Deck of Cards, a set of nine magnetized activity cards, produced in both English and Spanish, aimed at sparking increased interaction between parents and children, at a special event at Boston Children’s Museum on Friday, November 12.

“The demands on all of our time are incredible,” said Milton J. Little, president and CEO of UWMB. “The cards are clever, creative reminders that the most important time we spend is that which we spend with our kids.” Little said the cards contain activities linked to three youth developmental areas – cognitive, social/emotional and physical –and encourage parents and children to take part in the activities as a way to spend more quality time together and learn from each other.

An example of a social/emotional card is:

For Parents:

Ask your child to describe his or her friends to you. What are the names of his or her friends? What are some of the things they have in common? What are some of their favorite things they like to do together?

For Children:

Ask your parent to describe his or her best friend. Why are they best friends? How long have they been friends? How did they meet each other? What do they like to do with each other?

An example of a physical activity card is:

For Parents:

Ask for your child’s help in preparing a meal. Use the opportunity to discuss cooking safety (be careful of knives, of the hot stove, of hot pots, etc.) and ask his or her help in measuring, mixing or putting things away. Have a discussion with your child about what foods he/she likes to eat.

For Children:

Keep a food journal. Write down all of the things you eat and drink in one day. Share your journal with your parent and talk about the things you ate. Ask your parent to also keep a food journal so you can compare with each other.

Lourdes Vazquez, a parent from Jamaica Plain has already put them to good use.

"Like most parents, the one on one time I get to spend with my children is constantly threatened by obligations to my job, to chores at home, and all of life's other ‘to dos'," Vazques said. "The cards are a big hit in my household of two young children. I've put the cards on our fridge where I can easily refer to them whenever my children and I have a few minutes to filter out the noise and just concentrate on one another."

United Way’s Engaging Families Initiative is focused on black and Latino children ages six to 10 at neighborhood after-school programs in Roxbury, Dorchester, Jamaica Plain, East Boston and South End. In partnership with Parents United for Child Care (PUCC), which manages the project and provides support to participating after-school providers, EFI works with existing community resources to lay a foundation for active parental involvement in student learning while the children are in the earliest grades. The cards were developed with input from parents and will be distributed through neighborhood after-school programs.

EFI providers include Grace Renaissance After School Program (GRASP), Hyde Square Task Force After-School, Roxbury Presbyterian At Leon De Juda, Roxbury YMCA at Curley Elementary School, YMCA at Guild Elementary School, Greenwood Shalom After-school Program, Bruce Wall Ministries, Inc./Project 21 After-school Program, Roxbury YMCA at Blackstone Elementary School and Twelfth Baptist Church.

For more information on EFI visit www.uwmb.org/efi/index.html.