As your kids continue to age, you might reminisce the times when you were still changing their diapers. Now, your older children are in school for several hours a day. Moreover, once your children come home, they go straight to their rooms and only appear for dinner. You can improve your relationship with your older kids by playing games with them. Read the following reasons you should start building or rebuilding that relationship today by playing games with them.
1. Builds Communication
Many parents dread when their sons and daughters say things like, “I don’t want to talk about it.” Lack of communication can be the foundation of a crumbling parent-child relationship. Failure to fix this issue soon can lead to severe problems, such as household fights and fallouts.
As a parent, you don’t have to intrude in the personal life of your kids. Nonetheless, you can still enhance communication among your children by playing games.
Playing cards, board games, or various sports activities can help enhance communication among all players in the vicinity. For instance, class card games like Crazy Eights and Slapjack can help induce talking among players. Have fun with children of all ages playing these games, and see their smiles widen as they spend time with the rest of the family.
Games can help develop proper communication among family members, which is crucial in times of conflict. There might come a time when a fight breaks out between you and your kids. It’s going to be more challenging than average to communicate with older children without a proper communication line established.
Parents who have fun with their kids may have a better chance of resolving conflicts as talking among household members becomes more comfortable than usual.
2. Develops Togetherness
Families sharing similar beliefs and values can develop great bonds among members. This connection can promote love, trust, and care for different family members.
Play games with your older children to establish (or re-establish) this bond. Games that involve pairs or groups can help support the development of a sense of intimacy among participants. In turn, the activities can help develop an environment of closeness and security, which will be the pillars of strength during times of difficulties and uneasiness.
3. Encourage Exercise
Some household members may seem to have no regard for the well-being of other family members until it’s too late. A balanced diet and regular exercise are vital components of a healthy lifestyle. But staying indoors and living a sedentary lifestyle can promote health complications.
Older household members, particularly teens and young adults, may develop aloof personalities as they try to find their purposes in life. Play games and strengthen strong bonds with your older children as you might not be able to do so when you enter your senior years.
Games, particularly sports, can promote healthy lifestyles for different household members. Playing catch, throwing footballs, and kicking soccer balls into goals are some examples of great activities you can play with your children.
Not only will you gain a good workout from these games, but you’ll also improve the relationship with your older kids. Sports tend to encourage teamwork; without this trait, the participants won’t learn to trust each other during crucial moments in the playing field and life.
4. Introduce Fun at Home
A house isn’t a home without a family in it. Dull days exist as household members tend to concentrate on their interests. But if silence fills the air in your house for days, the chances are that there’s something amiss with the atmosphere.
Your home shouldn’t just be a place of rest, as it should also be a retreat from life’s everyday pressures. Introduce a once-a-week game night wherein one family member can introduce a activity for all household participants. The activities can range from playing video games to trying to win at charades.
In turn, these activities can promote fun, which might not be present in several educational establishments. Various schools tend to focus more on the logical aspect as opposed to developing the students’ emotional well-being.
Perhaps the last time your children experienced “fun” inside the classroom was during Play Time back in kindergarten. Once your kids reach high school or college, they tend to hit the books for several hours each day.
So introduce fun back in your home. Play games with your older kids and help them relax from the pressures of trying to achieve academic success.
Key Takeaway
Games don’t have to distract your older children from achieving their life goals. Still, removing fun from the household may result in various issue. Play games, and you’ll develop proper communication, trustworthiness, and love with your kids.