I absolutely love it when the most obvious solution is also the most simple.
I recently wrote a piece about the importance of family nights. The concept is something I grew up with and understand well. From as far back as I can remember, in our house, Sundays were family days -- reserved just for our family.
We went to church in the morning, had our big "dinner" around 1 p.m., and every Sunday night was Game Night. (Sorry no, not Sunday night football.) My parents, big brother and I would gather around the "game table," in the corner of the living room we rarely entered, to play board games or card games or do a huge jigsaw together. The tradition remains one of my favorite childhood memories. I had no idea my parents were secretly and strategically strengthening our family bond at the time. But they were.
The Northern California marriage and family therapist I interviewed for the article, Kim Fredrickson (www.kimfredrickson.com) believes that set-aside Family Nights are more important these days than ever before. "In our society, everyone is so busy doing so many different things, that there isn't time to connect as a family," she explains. She says that without emotional connection, children tend to rebel and act out more frequently. Makes sense, doesn't it? Kids need a connection to help ground them when life gets a little dicey or scary.
Best of all, the solution is free and easy. Family Time can be anything you want it to be. Around the Machon house, we have dance nights, where we ALL crank up the music and bounce around the house (thank God for window coverings), or movie nights with popcorn, or family walks around the neighborhood. There are so many other ideas out there -- playing WII or Playstation as a family, cooking dinner together, going bowling, etc.
Fredrickson says the key is to make it fun. And to make it a priority. As she says, "Kids spell love T-I-M-E."
