GRAND Magazine - September/October 2008 - (Page 40)

Guess who’s coming to dinner All of us. The family dinner is back—and not a moment too soon. By JeAnne SAGer D oroThy DAvieS knowS exAcTly where her grandsons are while she’s making dinner. Cody, 12, is laying out the napkins. Michael, 9, is placing the salt and pepper shakers. Like an increasing number of grands today, Dorothy Davies plays a critical role in her grandsons’ social, emotional and psychological development; and she does it by putting family back into dinnertime. Whether it’s once a month, once a week or every night, grands are learning that family traditions that put love around the table are paying off with ? rising grades and decreases in antisocial behavior. At 12, Cody has been living with Dorothy and husband Jim for half his life—since he was 6 years old. His brother, Michael, has been back and forth between life with his grandparents and life with his mom. With their mother, the boys rarely sat down together for dinner or even breakfast. With their grandparents, it’s something the boys—Cody in particular—expect. “It’s the time for the family to interact, update each other on what’s going on,” Dorothy says. “This is where they’re going to learn the social 40 GRAND SEPTEMBER OCTOBER 2008

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of GRAND Magazine - September/October 2008

Grand Magazine- September/October 2008
Grand View:�Priceless
Contents
Isn't it Grand?: Picture Perfect
Winners!: GRANDparent of the Year
Grand Central
Toddler Town:�Grand-proofing
Ask Grand:�Two Tired
Tips on Teens: The Bar Mitzvah Trips
Just So We Know:�BPA Not Our BFF
Full House-Full Heart-Full Time:�Confessions of a Backyard Grand
Grandbloggers: It Takes a Village
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?
Family + Food = Fun
On the Cover: Nora Roberts A Fine Romance
Everything Was Fine Until You Showed Up
Happy Big Sister Day
Looking Grand:�Elementary, My Dear
All in the Family:�Pasta, Present and Future
Reunions:�Doubleheader
Inspirations:�Grandpa's Violin
Grand Bazaar
More to the Story
Grand Finale:�Long Ago Under the Sun

GRAND Magazine - September/October 2008