I know that there is a time and a place for fun and games–after all, isn’t that we try to teach our children? That sometimes it is important to be serious and other times it is okay to play around? But, maybe as parents, we are being far more serious than we really need to be? When it comes to motivating our children, distracting them, and changing behaviors, maybe making things into fun and games can make for a happier and more efficient family?
Remember when your child was an infant and you used little games to distract him when you were changing his diaper or trying to get her to stop crying while you got the food ready? You already have the skills and creativity for coming up with little games, you just might not realize that making a game out of things can work with kids of all ages. My teens and I still turn things like doing the dishes or running errands into a game. It just makes a life a little more fun and keeps kids minds off the fact that they might be doing something they would rather not.
There are so many impromptu games that can come with parenting: kids can compete to see who can get their chores done faster or you can try to see how many times you find the word “free” in the grocery store. Playing “I Spy” is a family classic but why not make up your own version? You can create parameters and special rules to make it more interesting or more unique to your family. Life doesn’t always have to be serious business and neither does parenting. You might be surprised how much smoother things go or how you are able to get your children to do what you need them to with a little fun and games!