Friday Fan Club: Truth, Integrity, Blogging

Several bloggers I follow have been throwing down the "T" word: Truth. What's Cooking wrote a compelling post about how to speak the truth, have integrity and still get your message across in a positive way.  The Yummy Mummy publicly offered her book proposal in order to help herself and others to squelch those inner doubts and to come out with your story, your way. And this month Integrity is getting big play, with the Twitterwaves buzzing about the HFCS and Iowa Corn Tour Debate and whether or what bloggers should get paid for product reviews, what are rules for disclosure, etc. (PhD in Parenting, Mom 101, and Spain in Iowa).

Truth in storytelling is something I struggle with as I write about family dinner, although the sponsorship debate* hasn't come up for me (yet!). I wonder how to balance an optimistic and forward-looking message without seeming like a Pollyanna.  I wonder just how much of my own life to share and how much to keep it strictly to the "business" of family dinner research.

Specifically I think about,

• How to present research and sound advice to parents without being judgmental. 
• How to sing the praises of family dinner and better nutrition for you and your kids while acknowledging the hard facts that it can be a struggle, night after night. 
• How to get policymakers and researchers to consider family dinner as a health promotion effort worth taking seriously.

My goal is to present family dinner research and information in a compelling way, and I know personal stories are one of the best ways to do it. I'm willing to share, but don't want it to be just about me and my family. Many of us are working on similar goals and I would love us to join in conversation (Foodie Patootie,  Jolly Tomato, Feed Our Families Blog). I'd really like to collect the personal stories of other people, document the struggles we all face, and collect tips and advice from parents in the trenches.

Will you  help me do that? Add a story or link to the comments section or just email me with your ideas or support. Thanks!


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*For the record, Stouffer's and ConAgra have NOT come calling. In fact, Stouffer's blocked my comments even though I was far from critical of their Let's Fix Dinner campaign. It should be noted that they partnered with the respected CASA research group for the promotion who must have reined them in, er guided them, a bit.