The family that plays together, stays together. A parent that I respected, once told me to make sure to spend time with my kids doing something other than disciplining them. I needed the majority of “dad time” to be positive rather than negative.
Here is how I measure success in every family activity: Positive interaction between all family members. If this could not be achieved, I would look elsewhere. Everyone staring at their phones with earphones on is a fail, even if we are all in the same room. I value one on one time with family members, but that is a different goal.
I have tried numerous family activities and sports over the years. Positive interaction between family members was the goal. My kids grew up going on a family ski trip every winter. This kind of works for us, but we all ski or snowboard at different levels and trying to keep us together on the slopes is like herding cats. Too much time waiting at the ski lift in the cold and trying to pick out our crew in the sea of bundled up people is not my idea of quality time.
We still do ski trips, but everyone seems to scatter, leaving me with a big lift ticket bill with little time hanging out with Dad (who is now a bit slower than the kids). Amusement parks are the worst. Again, high ticket prices and everyone scatters in all different directions. Little net time interacting together.
One weekend I had a crazy idea, I put my family on a sailboat for an afternoon. Even the youngest ones could steer, pull lines, and hoist sails. It was a magical time as we all worked together. I would never put my 8-year-old behind the wheel of the motorhome, but he sure was able to take the helm of a 30’ sailboat!
A sailboat is meant to be operated by a team (unlike most land vehicles). You can easily have between 3 and 10 people all busy making the vessel sail efficiently. It was the perfect activity for our family! The sense of accomplishment brought us all together. The excitement of planning further adventures and then setting off to new destinations provides endless opportunities. The world is our playground!
My children are grown up now, but our adventures are not just memories, we are adding new crew! Spouses and grandchildren have joined in and we are charting new horizons. So, put the kids aboard, cast off those dock lines and let the wind fill your sails. Adventures await!
Comments