Have architects and house designers had a negative impact on family life? Yesterday Mick and I went out for the day to look at some exhibition homes in a display village. Not that we have any plans to up and move from where we are, but often it is away to pick up decorating ideas and we did come home with one or two.
However the thing that struck me most and saddened me was the idea of parent’s bedrooms often with large parents retreats where they can sit and relax are well away from children’s bedrooms, being at opposite ends of the house. Also many houses had a family room or TV room or rumpus room at one end of the house and a lounge room elsewhere.
It seems that families are constantly being urged to be separated, even when they are all at home. My impressions of family life from growing up and from our marriage and family are that families do things together. Families play games together, they talk together, they cook together or watch TV together or are all be curled up reading in the one room. The trend seems to be parents doing one thing while children are elsewhere doing something else. It carries over into marriage as well. Many of the houses had computer rooms away from the other living areas.
Are architects and house designers reflecting what people are asking for? Or are they dictating the trend of family life. One of the things we always found helpful as a family was playing board games together. Our cupboard contains a stack of board games. It’s a way of helping children with simple counting and adding up or Math as in games like Ludo, Rubbikub, or Monopoly. It’s a way of improving vocabulary as in Scrabble or Up Words, or strategy and logical thinking as in Settlers of Catan, which is a favorite game we often play with our adult offspring.
Through playing games children learn they can’t always win at everything they do. They learn to handle winning and losing and that is something that helps build character for life. But the most important thing about playing games with your spouse and as a family, is the relationship and interaction built up and the conversations that often go on around the table.
A young man I was talking to recently said he never played games with his family. His parents never initiated it. Is it a coincidence that he doesn’t have a close relationship with his parents as an adult, I wonder? I’d like to hear your thoughts on that.
All I know is our family enjoys nothing better than getting together and playing games, talking, going to the footy or just being together. Mick and I play games when the two of us are on our own as well. It’s a fun way of spending time together.
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