Time for Exercise

One of the things I always hear on parenting boards is how great a family game night is for the whole family. Members take turns choosing a favorite board game and everyone plays. It’s time to talk with the kids and just have fun.

It occurred to me that you don’t have to limit family game night to just board games. Why not add sports into the mix?

Obviously you are going to have to cope with whatever age and skill ranges you have, but most kids have at least one or two sports they just love to play. Bend the rules so that the entire family can participate and you can have a lot of fun.

Of course, most sports done at home have much more casual rules than they would otherwise. You might have to decide how it counts when the dog steals the ball, for example, or two of the kids want to be in the same position on the playing field, err… lawn.

Depending on your needs and the ages of your kids, you can either leave the rules as intact as possible or play with them quite a bit. You can even make silly rules to make things a little more fun for toddlers and preschoolers.

You’ll want to make sure things are competitive on a very friendly level, of course. This is a time to teach your kids to be good sports.

It’s also a chance to work on your kids’ physical abilities. Take a little time and teach your toddler a better way to throw, and be patient when he or she just can’t do it yet. Show your pride as new skills are learned or someone gets a lucky hit. Make goofy mistakes yourself if the urge strikes.

Family time is valuable, and working out together is a great way to acknowledge its importance while teaching the importance of being active. Go plan a family game night that’s a little more active than the usual.