Palo Alto, CA -- On Thursday evenings, September 4, 2003 and January 29, 2004, the children of Palo Alto will have no homework, no sports practices, and no scheduled classes or activities. For a change of pace on these two special nights, children can simply relax with their families - cook dinner together, play games, take walks, tell jokes together - and reclaim family time.
Children nationwide are suffering from over-stimulation due to our fast-paced culture and its corresponding pressure to achieve and be well rounded. This tendency toward overachievement has its cost - an alarming increase in the rates of depression and anxiety among our youth.

Carol Zepecki, Director of Student Services at PAUSD, reports "Over the past few years secondary school counselors and I discovered an increase in students being identified with learning difficulties who were later revealed to be suffering from anxiety and/or depression instead."

Zepecki's findings alarmed the school district and in 2000, she pulled together a committee with members from PAUSD, PTA Council, City of Palo Alto, Palo Alto Medical Foundation, Children's Health Council, Parents Place and Adolescent Counseling Services. This committee, known as SHARE (Student Health Awareness through Resources and Education), is sponsoring two Family Nights to address the issue of stress and the pressure to achieve in our community.

Louise Singleton PhD, psychologist and SHARE member says, "We need to raise awareness of the impact of stress on our children. Parents, schools, and community leaders need to work together to restore a balance among homework demands, family time, free time and enrichment activities."
Modeled after the successful Ridgewood (NJ) "Ready, Set, Relax Family Night Campaign," Palo Alto is taking the lead in the Bay Area. Groups that wish to join the campaign and reduce activities the evenings of September 4 and January 29 are encouraged to contact the SHARE Committee.

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