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What is Family Game Night?
Mix together kids and parents, take the phone off the hook, turn off the TV,
bring out a board game and what do you have? An evening of fun, learning and
laughter that brings all of you closer together. Sound good? Then maybe you
should be planning your own Family Game Night.
Family Game Night is a way to spend quality time together and create a family
tradition that you and your kids will remember and cherish for years to come.
Here's a fun recipe on how to maximize the time you have together:
1. Mark your calendar one night each week to spend uninterrupted time with
your kids.
2. Eat dinner together, clear the dinner dishes, and clean off the table.
3. Resist falling into the same routine and get your family excited by pulling
out your family's favorite board game.
4. Put a bowl of snacks on the table.
5. Let the games begin with these tips:
What will Family Game Night do for us?
Good question. It will:
Give you quality fun time with your children
Give you an opportunity to share a laugh together
Help you foster a positive family-child relationship
What will it do for the kids?
Social Interaction:
Gameplay allows your kids to learn from you and from each other. It encourages a
sense of connectedness and respect among family members.
Learning:
Games are a learning tool. For instance, Clue is good for learning deductive
reasoning. Scrabble is ideal for teaching math and spelling skills. Throw 'N Go
Jenga is perfect for teaching hand-eye coordination.
Life Skills:
Games teach kids important life skills such as patience, concentration, teamwork
and perseverance.
Everybody wins when the family plays a game together.
How do I get a Family Game Night started?
Family Game Night can be as simple or as detailed as you and your children
would like it to be.
Before you plan your Family Game Night, here are some things to think about:
Decide which night of the week will work best for your family
You may want to include some friends and neighbors
Select your family's favorite games
Create a fun way to mark the calendar each week so that everyone will know
when the next Family Game Night is!
Increase the fun of Family Game Night.
Involve the kids in the planning. Let them:
Pick the game(s)
Select the snack(s)
Choose teams
Invite guests
Take turns picking each week's snacks or games.
Keep a fun scoreboard:
Put each week's winner(s) on the refrigerator
Create a fun Family Game Night ''crown''
Put reminder notes in the kids' lunchboxes:
''Can't wait to see you tonight at Family Game Night''
Set up a multi-Family Game Night:
Rotate houses
Mix up the teams
Have a tournament
Add your own special touches.
What games should we play?
When picking games for Family Game Night, you should consider:
The age(s) of the kid(s) playing
Their specific interests
What games you liked to play as a kid
To get you started on your Family Game Night, here are some of
America's favorite games to consider:
Ages 6-8: Sorry!, Monopoly Jr., Clue Jr., Scrabble
Jr.
Ages 8-10: Sorry!, Clue, The Game of Life,
Monopoly, Throw 'N Go Jenga
Ages 10-12: Scrabble, Monopoly, Yahtzee, Clue,
Throw 'N Go Jenga
Ages 13 and up: Scrabble, Monopoly, Throw 'N Go
Jenga
Additional Tips
All games teach the following life skills:
- Cooperation/Teamwork: Taking turns and working with
others; respecting other family members including extended family
- Responsibility: Playing by the rules; taking care of the
materials and putting the game away to it will be ready next time
- Perseverance and Patience: Waiting for your
turn or for that ''special card'' or throw of the dice; sticking it
out to the end; trying again
- Honesty: Playing fair; being able to admit
mistakes and learning from them
- Understanding/Accepting both winning and
losing: Knowing that we can try to win, but sometimes we will lose,
and being able to cope with wins or losses tactfully and graciously
- Making choices and accepting the consequences
of the choices you make
Different games teach different types of skills:
- Yahtzee: Math skills; counting, tallying and
record keeping
- Scrabble: Vocabulary and spelling skills
- Sorry!: Counting, colors, strategy
- Clue:...memory, deductive reasoning, and record
keeping
- Monopoly and The Game of Life:
Attention span, problem solving, strategy, negotiation, compromise,
money skills
- Jenga: Eye-hand skills, perception,
observation, concentration
- Payday: Planning and money management skills
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