Family eJournal Improves Communication and Connection Between Parents and Their Children

Family eJournal's goal is to improve family connectedness by allowing parents and their children to share their thoughts and feelings through online, guided communication.

Columbia, MD -- January 21, 2003 -- Today, more than 40% of American households are connected to the Internet yet research indicates that a family is less connected to one another than ever before. Herein lies the genius of the Family eJournal (FEJ). FEJ uses the Internet to break through the barriers of face-to-face communication by re-establishing family communication via the written word.

FEJ is more than just email. Its goal is to improve family relationships and face-to-face communication by re-establishing trust and rapport through honest, open and guided written communication.

FEJ asks family members the questions that will encourage their sharing of thoughts and feelings. FEJ does not offer counseling. It simply stimulates the users mind with a few well-thought questions. And rest-assured, neither the public nor eJournal staff have access to user responses.

FEJ is accessible anytime, anywhere, provided a user has Internet access. A Family Leader subscribes to the eJournal using a secure registration page. Only the Leader can add family members, who receive a confirmation email containing their unique and random password. Upon logging in for the first time, a user should change their password, review the COPPA (Children's Online Privacy Protection Act) compliant privacy policy and feel free to get started.

Family eJournal is the brainchild of Now or Never, LLC president, Kevin Strauss, M.E. FEJ is intended to be just what its name implies, an electronic journal for a single family unit. The nuclear family of the 1950s is all but extinct. Today, more and more families have dual-incomes or single parents and divorce is separating families emotionally and physically. The family dinner is becoming rare as children continue to seek independence plus have the added pressures of increased academic and extra-curricular activities. Family conversations seem to center around schedules and errands and less around what family members are thinking and feeling.

The heart of FEJ lies in the Daily Experience Worksheet (DEW). This series of four simple questions, answered and read regularly by each family member, provides insight into their thoughts and feelings. The questions, developed by professional psychologists, social workers and counselors, are designed to encourage self-analysis and self-expression. FEJ is a closed environment, meaning that information can only be exchanged with members of your family. FEJ is not a public, online diary or an email service.

The eJournal combines the power of the pen with todays computer technology. Simple self-disclosure within the disinhibiting Internet environment has the potential to transform how families communicate and connect. FEJ will help family members overcome their communicative difficulties and feel comfortable enough to share their thoughts and feelings face-to-face.

Mr. Strauss earned his Master of Engineering in Biomedical Engineering from Worcester Polytechnic Institute. He has worked for more than five years on National Institutes of Health funded medical device research at Amron Corporation in the area of positive behavior modification. His passion for psychology, human behavior and communication is what led him to create the Family eJournal -- Connecting Parents and their Children.

For more information visit our website at http://www.familyejournal.com.