Tips for playing as a family
Author: Patricia Santamaria | Physiotherapist and mother
TIPS FOR PLAYING WITH THE FAMILY
With a month full of holidays, long weekends, and vacations coming up, I'm bringing you some tips to make the most of these family-friendly times:- Less is more: Due to our busy lifestyles, nighttime often arrives and we realize we haven't had time all day to play with the little ones. Every day we have to find our own playtime. It doesn't have to be an entire afternoon; a little bit of "quality play" is enough. It doesn't matter if we spend that time outside or at home... but it's necessary.
- Objective: to have fun. Children need to play with the sole objective of having fun, and if we support them in achieving that goal…even better. Conflicts must be avoided during these playtimes.
- Be patient: We often forget that they're children, and we want them to do things our way, to play what we tell them to when that's not the way they should. After all, they're children... that's why we have to be patient if they don't want to play the way we want.
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Choosing age-appropriate games : A very enriching resource, for example, is a board game. This is only as long as it's age-appropriate and the child can fully understand the game's dynamics and doesn't get frustrated because they don't fully understand it or don't know how to play.
- To win or not to win? Children don't usually take losing very well when they're playing... so a good idea is to choose a game that doesn't involve winning or losing, but rather cooperation... this way, they'll value colluding with their team to achieve the desired goal.
