7 Reasons for a Family Games Night by Andrew Low

Parents recognise that there are lots of activities which can help build togetherness and unity in a family. One activity that fits this ideal is a weekly games night, where all the family takes an hour or two to play games after an evening meal. Here are seven of the top benefits for you to hold one regularly with your family.
1 Inexpensive: For good, cheap entertainment, you can't go past family games. There are hundreds of games that can be played with only a single pack of cards. In fact, you could play a different game every week and still have plenty left for the next year. A set of dice are also cheap, while there are games that use nothing more than your imagination. What great value!

2 Suitable for all ages: Young children have games that are suited to their age while other games are better suited to older children and adults. However, there are so many games that suit everyone from great-grandparents to infants that no one needs to miss out purely because of their age.

3 Does not discriminate against physical disabilities: Since the idea is to have fun, it won't matter what level of physical skill you have. If your brain still works, you can join in family games. If someone cannot join the game, you can move the game to the sickroom so no one needs to miss out.

4 Both educational and entertaining: Many so-called 'educational' games can be a bit boring. With a family games night, children will be learning how to recognise their letters and numbers while they also learn to add and multiply, and learn facts about geography and history (depending on the game). All while they think they are simply having fun.

5 Provides varied entertainment: There so many types of games that are suitable for a family. From card games and dice games, to parlor games, board games (both commercial and free), word games, tile (domino) games and pen and paper games. No one needs to be bored!

6 Provides room for wonderful family interactions: As the night progresses, there are opportunities for great interaction through talking, sharing and caring. There could even be laughter and tears as some players win and others don't.

7 Builds strong character: It is as important to learn how to lose graciously is it is to win gracefully. A spirit of cooperation grows when a child (or adult) decides to enjoy the game instead of simply trying to win every game. When they learn to put others first, every one can have a wonderful time.

The benefits listed above are simply the beginning. A regular family games night should be one of the priorities on every parent's schedule to assist in building a strong and healthy family.



About the Author
Andrew owns {a href=" http://www.family-games-treasurehouse.com"}Family Games Treasurehouse which has rules for over a hundred family games. Visit http://www.family-games-treasurehouse.com and sign up for our free newsletter to download our ebook, "25 Family Dice Games". This article is copyright but may be freely republished provided the text, author credit, site links and this copyright notice remain intact.