In this step you will be asked to plan to conduct one small action you could take to achieve this goal. To help decide what this action will involve, here are some tips to improve your family’s participation in fun and enjoyable activities.
Remember, this can be achieved by engaging in fun activities, big and small, planned and spontaneous. The goal is to see lots of smiles and hear lots of laughter.
It can be helpful to ask members of your family:
- When do we have the most fun as a family?
- What would you like to do more to have fun with the family?
It can be helpful to think about activities that you can do with your family, either while at home or when outside the home. Some ideas are listed below to help you get creative and plan for some fun:
Within your home
- Hide and seek
- Throwing the ball
- Wash the car or pet
- Plan a special meal with everyone choosing a dish
- Plant some flowers
- Make a tent in the lounge room with cushions and blankets
- Draw pictures and shapes with chalk on the driveway
- Lie on the grass and find pictures and shapes in the clouds
- Blow bubbles
- Dance to music
- Play chasing or play-wrestle
Outside your home
- Go for a walk
- Have a picnic
- Go to the playground
- Splash in the puddles
- Go camping
- Make sand castles at the beach
- Watch the trains go past at the train station
Tips
- Pay attention to the child and/or family members during the activity so they know they are special and you like spending time together.
- Make sure you choose a time to complete an activity when you feel relaxed and you aren’t rushed so you can enjoy the moment.
- Make sure the activity suits your child’s abilities, personality and likes to avoid frustration and conflict. For example, if your child gets over-excited and competitive during play-wrestling this might not be the best activity to select.
- Focus on building the relationship with the child and other family members, not the outcome of the activity. For example, it doesn’t matter if you don’t catch any fish whilst fishing… having fun together does.
This is important – the interaction matters more than the activity!
Have you ever spent time with someone when you could tell they simply didn’t want to be there? It wouldn’t matter if you were seeing your favourite band at a concert, knowing they were not enjoying themselves puts a damper on the whole experience.
This matters even more when you are interacting with your children and your family. They need to know that you love them and like spending time with them. Even though words such as ‘I love you’ are important, your actions speak louder than words.
If you pay attention to the warmth and positivity in the interaction, fun and enjoyment can occur as part of everyday life.
Take for example, washing the car.
- If you take the approach that this is an annoying chore that you just want to get done, when your child wants to join in this could be a source of frustration and result in a negative interaction.
- If, however, you wash the car at a time when you are not rushed and see the task as an opportunity for fun, the outcome might be different. You might get your child and other family members involved, and play some music to dance to while you wash, you might even have a water fight.
Now, we need to be realistic. The car does need to get washed, just like all the other tasks that a parent needs to complete. We can’t make every moment a full-filled experience! But the point remains … it is not the activity that matters, but the interaction. Enjoyment and bonding comes from being playful with each other and enjoying each other’s company.
Now it is time to plan your first small action. Look at the example provided, and then write your own