Apr 10
21
“I’m bored” “There’s nothing to do”. These comments come up surprisingly often in a world crammed full of entertainment. Satellite TV with a thousand channels, Wii and Xbox, iPhones, Facebook and Twitter, YouTube - how can anyone ever be bored? Yet sometimes many of us long for non-digital entertainment; Something that allows us to interact with real people sitting in the same room as you. I know, this may be something from the dark ages…
Family game night is a great option. There are so many great things about it:
- Family bonding time -I know some people are cringing thinking about it, but so often our lives are busy, and everyone is grabbing food and running off to sports practice, dance class, band rehearsal, etc. Or, everyone grabs their dinner and plops down in front of the TV. By playing a game, everyone interacts with eachother. You may even get your teenager to talk!
- Get away from digital media - For a lot of adults, and some kids, we spend all day staring at the computer. Then, we come home and stare at the TV or computer. That much time staring at screens isn’t good for your eyes or your body. Even if you are sitting around the kitchen table playing a board game, you have to move and stretch to reach all of the pieces.
- Teach manners – For some kids (or even adults), playing games can be tough. Having to wait your turn, watching younger siblings make mistakes or missing “obvious” choices, and dealing with losing the game are all good ways to teach kids about patience and poor sportsmanship. I have had some unpleasant experiences playing with kids, because they could not deal with this.
- Fun! I love board games. I may be long past being a kid, but it is nice to put away all of the problems of the day and focus on the game at hand. And board games aren’t just for kids. I once spent an entire night playing a marathon game of Axis and Allies. Because we were all adults, the strategy involved was challenging and fun. I also recently was at a friend’s parent’s house. He pulled out a board game his dad had played as a kid called “Uncle Wiggly Game”. Some of the character names were so ridiculous, they sounded like they were from a bad ”adult” movie. We laughed ourselves sick. My favorite game of the moment is Settlers of Catan.
So what are some ideas for games? The classics like Monopoly, Yahtzee, Risk, Sorry, Scrabble, Clue and Life are always fun. You can also play card games – these are some of my fondest memories of growing up.
What is your favorite game, from when you were a kid, that you play with your kids now, or perhaps a game you play with other adults?
Photo Credit – Group
Photo Credit- Settlers of Catan
We always played a lot of board games. Of course the ones you mentioned, we also liked Careers, King Oil, and Masterpiece. Plus you can’t forget backgammon and chess.
One of our favorites was a simple card game called Mille Bornes (french for 1000 miles). Very addictive and great for travelling. UNO is another one.
Seize the Day,
Rob
Simple Family Survival Tips For Disasters and Emergencies
As kids with my Dad we played the card game “Canasta”. With my Mom checkers. All were lots of fun. Then we would also invent our own games. Yep, lots of fun with very little expense.
Eileen
Birthdays in an ESL Lesson
We often played a lot of the games you mentioned, in particular SORRY and UNO.
My dad also taught us to play cribbage and YAHTZEE, which were great for helping us improve our counting skills.
Michael
The Success Secrets
As a kid, we couldn’t afford technology, so we often played board games. They were a lot of fun and are the things that bring back good memories. Doing technology has no memory-producing qualities because you don’t get the interaction with other humans.
Thanks for the great reminder!
Tim Van Milligan, helping you Make Money Online, God’s Way!
We were raised with Monday night as family night. Most of the time it was fun sometimes we felt we were forced into it. My kids got the same experience.
I loved family night as a kid and still consider it one of the best habits a family can adopt to create a strong family and raise healthy, well adjusted kids. The other is a regular sit down dinner every night or at least most of the nights of the week.
Steve Chambers
Body Language Expert
We play board and card games together all the time. And there are just so many new ones coming out all the time that our favorites list keeps changing.
I’d highly recommend trying some cooperative games. They’re great for families because older players and younger players are all working together.
Games like: Pandemic or Castle Panic are great.
You can see video reviews of some fun family games at http://www.TheBoardGameFamily.com
I love playing board games with my kids. Unfortunately I always teach them my secrets and they end up beating me
David
Bay Area Roofing Companies
Growing up played board games with family, card games with grandparents and rpgs with friends
We had family dinner, Sunday dinner, games after Sunday dinner and yes game nights (usually once a month, on the holidays and on vacations). Milles Bournes! Wow! I had forgotten that one. Scrabble, Rook, Charades…oh the laughs! When we get together now we still play some games, but mostly we talk about those old days…
Sonya Lenzo
http://www.yourchanceforromance.com
Hi Michelle,
oh WOW! We loved to play backgammon, I spit, Monopoly, cheese, 9 mens morris, the game of go, and others as kids.
I remember playing canasta when I was like 8 -10 yrs old with THE WOMEN of my family when my hands were too small to hold all the cards and had to rely on these round plastic devices to hold my cards with my sises, my mom, and my grandmother. You knew you were approaching adulthood when you were taught….. Bridge.
Happy Dating and Relationships,
April Braswell
Single Boomer Dating Expert
We used to do game night every Wednesday. Then my husband started traveling and it just faded away. Thanks for the reminder because we really should get back to it. The kids really enjoyed it and it was a great family bonding time. I used to read to them every night and then many times they had so much homework that it was bedtime when they got done. We should get back to that too!
Lisa McLellan
Babysitting Services, Nanny Services, and Nanny agencies
Now here’s something that is totally fun, but so many families aren’t doing it any more! Great post!
We love game nights..I do notice though as the kids get older they like them less…I guess I need better games?
Games are always a good way to bong with other people, you can learn all about their habits and what kind of person they are. For the family it gives them time to talk to each other and not text or listen to an mp3 player.
Scott Sylvan Bell
http://www.scottbellconsultant.com
Now go implement!
I love playing games with my kids. Every other Friday we go to Uncle’s Games (a local game store that has family game nights til midnight) and we learn to play new games or bring one of our own.
I’m learning to play Munchkin, but not well!
Sabrina Peterson, NASM CPT,CES
Corrective Exercise for Every Body