Home » Partners & Parents » Family Activities » It's Family Night

It's Family Night

© Cindy Ovard

"Come on everyone, gather around," my daughter said in her most official voice. She was gearing up to teach the family a lesson on how to have fun together. She had activities planned and games to play. She wanted to have fun with the whole family.

Needless to say, we all gatherered around and enjoyed an evening of dancing (to my daughter's choice of music)and an evening of spending time together. We had fun laughing and joking with one another.

Isn't it about time to take back the control we've all seemed to lose to the wide varieties of sports that are offered to our children. Those sports control our lives. We eat, drink and play them every Saturday from Fall to Spring. They consume our every waking moment.

"Who has a game tonight?" "Who has practice tonight?" "Who has a life tonight?" With the onset of youth sports in the spotlight lately due to increasing violence with parents, I'm taking back control of what is lost. I'm reaching out to my children.

Family Game Night can be a time of finding out who we are; finding how who our children are. Do they play fair? Do they care about others? Are they fun to play games with? Do I like being around my own children?

There are many, many ideas for family activites. You don't have to make them costly or time consuming. Be creative and think of what each family member likes and take turns gearing activities towards each one. Make it a habit of spending time together. A habit is formed if you do it three times in a row. Try for three weeks to have a family game night and it can become a good habit in the making.

As a parent, we don't have to do it all right now for kids. Let our kids be kids and let them grow on their own. Let them grow and watch our example of what a parent should be. One interview televised last spring as the summer was gearing up interviewed one thousand school age kids. One question haunted me. The kids were asked what they wanted to do more than anything during their summer break. The majority answered "I want to play!" Our kids want be kids. They want to enjoy their youth while they have the chance.

We, as parents need to let them be young. Let them learn and grow and make their mistakes as we guide them. Let them enjoy the freedom we craved so much as kids. PLAYTIME!