RV Tips
 

Family Time

The need to be entertained 24/7 what’s the price?  We are all spending so much time in isolation.  I recently read a news study that suggests we are lonelier today than we were 20 years ago. 

There are so many electronic game or entertainment options available to kids these days it’s staggering.   I think as adults and parents we have fallen into the trap too.  Thinking we need internet, cell phones, blackberries and such at all time.  Everyone knows we need to spend more time together as a family, talking, laughing and having fun.  That’s what builds the foundation we need to support our kids when tough circumstances in life present themselves.

Childhood illness increases with lack of family interaction and physical activity.  I believe we as parents are missing out too, it’s not just the kids that need the bonding and closeness.

So what can we do about this? Taking a family camping vacation is a great start.  Then make sure the vacation is packed with family fun and family activities. I'm talking about interaction and communication. Physical activities are good tossing a ball, hiking, gathering wood for a fire or even a round of putt-putt golf.

At night plan to play a good old fashion board game, Yahtzee is a family favorite of ours.  It’s easy to play on any picnic table.  We vary the games by playing Triple or Double.  We bought a Yahtzee game over 15 years ago, the barrel is cracked the box barely holds together and the dice are worn.  We have had to buy new score pads over the years, but at 18 our son still enjoys sitting down with his parents to play.  During our games we often learn things about each others lives and I for one will have those memories this fall when our son is off to college.

We also like the traditional games like Risk, Monopoly, Clue and Life.  They are a little larger and on vacation sometimes is seems to be a challenge to return with all the game pieces we left with.  Triominos is another favorite of ours.  Really sharpens the mind.  If you haven’t tried it, you should.

For many years, when our son was young part of our family vacation was a trip to the local store game aisle.  He could carefully select 1 new board game to try for that week.  We recently did some major cleaning as part of a the get ready for college scene and each time we talked about donating a game (even ones we haven’t played in years) no one wanted to part with them.  No one felt the same attachment to our movie collection.  Every game seems to have a memory all its own.  Writing this article reminded me of my own childhood board game memory.  My dad and I played Risk on a regular basis and we kept the win/loss record in the box top.  My dad still has that game and he played it with our son (his grandson) bragging about his winning record against me all the while.

When you plan this year’s vacation make sure to plan family activities and games to create your memories.  HAPPY PLAYING!