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 It's not always easy to sit down with your family for dinner—soccer practice, jobs, and homework sometimes get in the way. But studies show that it's worth the effort. Children who eat dinner with their families have healthier diets, greater emotional stability, and better grades. Plus, sitting down to dinner together is a great way to keep the lines of communication open.

    Here are a few tips for making the most of family dinners:

Establish a routine.

And stick to it. Let your family decide how many meals to share each week, and then agree to avoid other commitments and appointments on those nights.

Involve your children.

Even the smallest kids can fold napkins or put a fork by each plate. And be sure to encourage them to help clean up, as well.

Please their palates.

Try to make delicious and nutritious meals the whole family will enjoy. If you know someone might not enjoy the "main course," try to serve a popular side dish.

Eliminate distractions.

Make it a rule to leave the TV off and let the answering machine or voice mail pick up the phone.

Get the conversation started.

Think of questions to get your kids talking about their days:

• What was the funniest thing you heard today?

• What was the most amazing thing you learned today?

Keep it positive.

This isn't the best time to discuss issues that could turn into an argument. And remember, spills happen! So don't let a little accident spoil the mood.

Remember, family meals may be some trouble at first, but soon you'll find you won't want to give them up. Years from now, you'll be glad you didn't!

Soldier’s Wife Becomes First Military Spouse Naturalized Overseas American Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, June  2008 – Zita Chouchan, the wife of a U.S. Army soldier, became a citizen of the United States on May 29 at the U.S. Consulate in Frankfurt, Germany, in the first overseas naturalization ceremony for a military spouse. Jonathan Scharfen, acting director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, poses with Army Sgt. 1st Class Lom Chouchan, Zita Chouchan, and the couple’s children, Atilla and Eva, at the U.S. Consulate in Frankfurt, Germany, May 29, 2008. Zita Chouchan took her citizenship oath as the first military spouse living overseas to become a naturalized U.S. citizen under a newly enacted law. Photo courtesy of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services   (Click photo for screen-resolution image);high-resolution image available. Jonathan Scharfen, acting director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, presided over the ceremony, which also included 20 soldiers stationed throughout Germany and Kosovo. "This week, as we observe Memorial Day, we take time to reflect upon the sacrifices our military and their families make to defend the freedoms America offers," Scharfen said. "Words cannot express our profound appreciation for the honorable service you provide. You make us proud to be Americans." In her letter to USCIS seeking the opportunity to conduct her naturalization process and ceremony overseas, Chouchan said, "I'm very proud. … Not everyone has earned the right to be called a military spouse." When President Bush signed the fiscal 2008 National Defense Authorization Act into law in January, portions of the Immigration and Nationality Act changed to allow certain military spouses to naturalize overseas where they are stationed. Before then, spouses could naturalize only while physically within the United States. Chouchan’s husband, Army Sgt. 1st Class Lom Chouchan, became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1995. His family fled their native Cambodia in the 1970s, spending the next five years in a refugee camp before a Toledo, Ohio, family sponsored them as immigrants in the United States. His family later moved to Long Beach, Calif., where he graduated from high school before joining the Army. (From a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services news release.)

Related Sites: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services

Zita Chouchan completes paperwork with Emigdio Martinez, senior adjudications officer for U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in Frankfurt, Germany. Photo courtesy of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services   Download screen-resolution    Download high-resolution Zita Chouchan, the first military spouse to become a naturalized U.S. citizen overseas, accepts congratulations from Jonathan Scharfen, acting director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and Kristina Carty-Pratt, director of the USCIS field office in Frankfurt, Germany, May 29, 2008. Photo courtesy of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services   Download screen-resolution    Download high-resolution

Army Children Launch Communication Web Site

By Steven Donald Smith
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, April  2008 – Children of U.S. soldiers spearheaded a project to launch a Web site that enables Army youth around the world to communicate with each other.

The "Real Teens Connected" Web site, which went live this winter, is a product of the Army's Child and Youth Services Army Teen Panel, and is geared toward teenagers 13-18 years old. The site offers a variety of services to all Army-affiliated youth, including news updates, relocation information and stories written by Army kids.

"Kids want to connect with other kids who are in like situations," Pamela "PK" Tomlinson, deputy director of the Army's Child and Youth Services, said. "The idea was a Web site that would focus on linking all teens, regardless of military component, in a venue they are all familiar with and like to use, which is the Internet."

A secure online chat room and bulletin board will soon be added. "The reason we wanted to incorporate a secure chat room and a bulletin board is to create a safe site where the teens can talk to each other," said Donna McGrath, a sports and fitness program manager for the U.S. Army Community and Family Support Center and senior adult adviser for the Army Teen Panel.

The Web site will allow the teens to express "what it's like to be the child of a military person, and just talk about what's going on with them," McGrath said. "It is absolutely youth led."

The idea for the Web site was spawned when Army Teen Panel members came together and realized they needed a way to better communicate with each other. After determining the Internet was the best method to do this, they brought the idea to the adults, Tomlinson said.

After the adults agreed about the merits of the project, the teens created a mission statement and marketing plan and designed the registration process, she said.

"It's a youth-generated, adult-mentored process that the Army Teen Panel undertook over a period of little less than a year - to develop and come up with a marketing plan and talk about goals and objectives," Tomlinson said.

The panel is a group of teens who meet twice a year to discuss concerns that affect Army youth and work on projects to help resolve these concerns. Members of the panel come from active, Reserve and Guard families, and each command and national region comprises the membership, Tomlinson said.

The Real Teens Connected project had a "soft launch" at this year's Army Family Action Plan Conference in January, she said, and will be rolled out with more fanfare this month, which is designated as the Month of the Military Child.

The Real Teens Connected Web page is hosted through the Boys and Girls Club of America YouthNet Web site, www.bgcayouthnet.org -- first-time users must register there before accessing the Real Teen Connected page. Returning users then just click on the "Army Teens" menu tab and type their user name and password to enter. Eligible youths must also have an Army Knowledge Online account that is sponsored through a parent or guardian.

The goal is to have 18,000 kids register on the Web site over the next six months and to eventually move the site up to the Defense Department level, where children of all services and DoD civilians can communicate, Tomlinson said.

"Needless to say, we're very excited about this program," Tomlinson said. "These teenagers are really phenomenal kids."