Family Game Night

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

Madhatterr Games

Family Game Night