Family Games

The Fatherhood Institute says:
Research shows clearly that there are links between mums’ and dads’ health and that of their children. For example if you’re obese, there’s a higher than average chance that your child will be too – and especially if your child’s mum is obese too. So don’t just sit there - get moving and improving your family’s health!

Family Games

Playing a game of What’s the Time Mr Wolf?, Hide and Seek, ball or footie can be a great way to have fun together as a family, and be active! Make sure to make any game or sport you play with your family has age appropriate play and rules. Here’s a suggestion for creating your own game or sport:

Whether you’re a footie champ or a an armchair athlete, creating your own family sport with your kids is a fun way to bond, build confidence, and become the world’s top players in Rugger-Rounders-Sticks-O-Rama! (Or whatever!)

You may feel that, as a dad, you’re somehow meant to be a Fernando Torres figure for your kids, a sporty dad who’s good at everything with a ball and boots. This may be true. This may also not be true. Either way, one of the best ways to make you and your whole family sports superstars is to make up your own sport which makes the best of your skills, ages, kit, and playing space. Here’s a list of steps (all optional) that you can use to DIY a sport!

1.    Stick and rackets Will your sport involve sticks or rackets? Here’s a chance to take advantage of the possibly random collection of rackets and things you may have in your cupboards or garden shed. Remember, however, that very small children can’t easily hold grown-up tennis rackets—so if you’d like, you could invest in some smaller, kid-friendly kit!

2.    Balls & shuttlecocks Ball games are classic, but the size, bounce, and number of balls can make a massive difference to game play. What about rugby with a giant beach ball?

3.    Pitch What space is available as your pitch? One of the great things about creating your own sport is that you can adjust it to your garden, your local park, or the neighbourhood sports centre!

4.    Weather Will your sport take place in a specific type of weather? What about a game of Puddle-bounce? (See uniforms—rain gear would be necessary for this one!)

5.    Rules Make sure the rules of the game are age-appropriate. A nine-year-old can understand cricket, but a younger child may only grasp the concept of ball in net = points!

6.    Uniforms Okay, families that have matching uniforms usually either look like super-heroes or something from National Lampoons. However there’s no need to go the whole hog and it doesn’t need to be flash—it can just be wearing clothes that allow for comfy and safe game play.

Don’t feel tied to this list, use your imagination as a family and see where it leads you.

Video Gaming in Families

Can playing video games together be good for your family?

A new study done by Futurelab has explored whether family nights spent playing video games leads to bonding between parents and kids, and has benefits for the family as a whole. This may be a surprise, but the answer is that yes, gaming together as a family can be an educational, connecting and a really very fun experience!

The Futurelab research shows that with the right games and the right context, video games can be the 21st century equivalent of the family board game nights of old. 

Family gaming can mean virtually wheeling around a digital track with your son or daughter in hot pursuit, playing a collaborative game where you and your family hunt for digital treasure together, or dancing around the living room with a virtual tennis racket.

Playing video games together can be an opportunity to teach your children about important social skills like fair play and taking turns, and gives you the opportunity to see what they’re actually playing. Yet most important of all it allows whole families to engage with one another in multiple directions—from asking your son or daughter for PS3 tips, to talking to them about on-screen and real-life violence.

You can visit the Futurelab website and download a full report, complete with detailed suggestions for parents, at futurelab.org.uk