Balloon Boy's Parents- is this abuse?

What should we call parents who use their children as objects to seek their own personal gain? The entire ordeal was staged to create publicity for his parents' desire to be on reality TV again.
Six-year-old Falcon Heene was told to hide for hours in the rafters of the garage while the country worried about his safety. Falcon and his siblings were told to collude with his parents' abuse of the nation's desire to drop everything and focus on the safety of one little boy. They put him on TV many times the day of the hoax and while on the Today Show, which was the middle of the night for this little by, he threw up. For me this qualifies as abuse. Associated News writes about the saga. What do you think?

Does eating dinner with our kids protect them?

In The New York Times article The Guilt Trip Casserole:The Family Dinner by Jan Hoffman, the writer starts with the following statistic:

Teenagers who eat with their families less than three times a week are more likely to turn to alcohol, tobacco and drugs than those who dine with their families five times a week.

So, what's a working mother or father with late hours to do? Statistics like these have always made me feel guilty and I know I'm not alone. I don't believe there's a direct cause and effect. I have always believed that families who eat together demonstrate that they set aside a time to talk to one anther about their day. This connection doesn't have to be limited to the dinner hour. Basically connection is the key.