Creative Family Fun Nights to Build Connection
When was the last time you played? How long has it been since you felt a joyful connection with your child? Life moves fast, and before you know it, your relationship with your kids can become controlled by mundane routines, shuttling to and fro, homework headaches, and seemingly endless extracurricular activities. Often it seems there just isn’t enough time or energy left for fun or quality one on one time, and unfortunately that means our relationships can begin to suffer. Laughter and play build family connection, and connection is the key to parenting.
When I say “connection,” I mean a deep emotional attachment, and it’s critically important for well-being and proper development. Think of connection like a rope between you and your child. Each positive interaction adds a new thread that strengthens the rope. Every time you play together, laugh with one another, say something positive or affirming, listen and empathize, you’re strengthening that connection. Likewise, negative interactions strip away from the rope and eventually cause it to fray or even break. Over time, the stresses of everyday busyness can wear on the connection if we don’t intentionally care for the relationship.
Children who feel a lack of connection with their parents may start to act out, make poor decisions, have declining grades at school, show defiance, or withdraw. All of these are red flags that your relationship needs some TLC. On a positive note, connection can quickly turn those problems around and give you direct access to your child’s heart. By adding a family fun night to your weekly calendar, you can strengthen your family while building a fun family culture that brings joy to all.
I know your family calendar is likely to be quite full already, and I know that being intentional isn’t always as simple as it sounds. However, prioritizing what matters most will be worth it in the end, I promise! Here are seven creative and fun ideas for you to spend your evening connecting with your kids.
- Cook an interesting dinner together. Let the kids pick a recipe to try, and then have everyone gather in the kitchen, chef hats on, and see what you can create together. Creating individual pizzas is always a hit if you want to pick a safe activity that you know will get eaten! Alternatively, you could even sign up to attend a cooking class together!
- Watch a comedy. My family recently finished watching every episode of The Office together and we had so much fun doing it. Choose a funny series to watch, or just pick a comedy film and sit back and laugh! Laughing together is a great bond-building exercise!
- Remember when your child was small and loved playing hide and seek? Level up this game by playing in the dark with glow bracelets or flashlights. When our kids get older, we usually stop playing games like this, but the truth is they never outgrow it! Even teens secretly love hide and seek.
- Add a creative spin to game night by making up your own silly games. I love board games, but you can only play Monopoly so many times before the kids start to groan when you mention it. However, playing spontaneous Minute-to-Win-It type games is always a hoot! Race to blow cotton balls across the table with straws or transfer marshmallows from plate to cups without using your hands, or bounce balls into buckets. Have a silly, friendly competition and watch how they light up!
- You know those places you ordinarily drop your teen off to have fun with their friends? Skating rinks, trampoline parks, laser tag, escape rooms and such? Well, join them this time. You’re never too old to play, too!
- Pick up a few blank canvases and paint at your local craft store and enjoy an evening of painting together. What a fun way to unleash creativity while spending quality time together doing something new and different.
- Make a silly family movie or video together. Sing, dance, or perform on camera together to create a lasting memory you can watch in the years to come. It’s sure to be a family treasure!