If you have a spouse, still live at home with your parents, or have a family with children of your own, you know the importance of spending time together. You may also feel the crush of outside influences, like technology and TV when you try to spend time with each other. If you’re wondering what to do to combat the 21st century in your home life, and spend some quality face time with your family, you should try a game night.
Bonding
Do you have a memory from childhood of playing a specific game with your friends or family? Do you feel nostalgic whenever you play a card game? That’s because you’ve bonded that game to your memories, and it is part of who you are now. Why not give your family and/or children those same gifts. Starting a family game night will mean that, sometime down the road, your kids will pick up their favorite board game and say, “I remember when I played this with my parents.” When you play together, you show your children that you enjoy spending time with them, and they learn to expect that time with you. If you have teenagers, this can be especially helpful in helping them open up and have fun with you – something they swore they’d never do. When you have fun as a family, you make lifelong memories.
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It’s Cheap
Have you ever tried to take the whole family out for a “night of fun” and ended up sweating over how you were going to keep the lights on at home afterwards? The reality is that things are becoming insanely expensive, and dinner and a movie for four people can cost almost as much as a plane ticket. While it may seem “less cool” to pick up a board game for $30 at your local store, the reality is that you get much more out of that $30 investment than you do out of an expensive night out. You get quiet time at home, you get one-on-one time with your family, and you can play the game multiple times in the years to come. It’s just smart math!
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Learning
Especially if you have young kids, Game Night can be a fun and educational experience. Board games can even help you keep your memory! Studies have shown that people who learn new games of strategy, chance, words, and so on actually expand their knowledge base and learn to think more critically than those who do not. There is also something to be said about interacting with family while trying to solve problems and win a challenge – it teaches kids that they can rely on their family to help them through struggles (whether educational or other). There are so many games out there designed to help children develop, and tons of other games that can help you as an adult increase your brain function. New games help make neuron connections, which make you smarter!
