Tag Archives: family bonding

Free Fun to Battle the Winter Blues

This week, much of the nation has been paralyzed by brutally cold temperatures.  In my neck of the woods, several school districts closed because it was simply too dangerous to allow children to be exposed to -35 degree windchills. Old Man Winter’s brutal blast has forced many families indoors where they are spending quality time together watching movies, playing board games and cooking.  Fortunately, these activities don’t have to put a strain on your household budget, including the movie-watching. These days there are a slew of simple ways you can avoid paying high fees for movie rentals.  One of the … Continue reading →

Creating Affordable Memories

  Not everyone can afford to take expensive winter trips to tropical locales to create magical family memories swimming with dolphins, paragliding over cobalt blue waves or cruising next to breaching whales. Heck, you may not even be able to pay for cable television, so that you can bond with your clan while watching “Home Alone” on ABC Family. I hear you. We live on a tight budget, so cable TV is not a luxury our family indulges in. While my young daughter would love nothing more than to cuddle up with the newest Disney characters, TLC reality stars, and … Continue reading →

Holiday Family Bonding Around the TV

If someone is getting paid to write an article about television and children you can bet that the tone of the piece likely won’t be very positive. TV generally gets a bad rap, especially when it comes to children being overexposed to it. However, this time of year I don’t think there’s anything wrong with children spending a bit more time in front of the boob tube—-with their parents—-watching holiday classics like “A Charlie Brown Christmas” and “Frosty the Snowman.” “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” and “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”–these are national treasures as far as I’m concerned and … Continue reading →

Secret Family Signals

I’ve known a few families with secret signals or gestures that only meant something to their family. I think having family signals and codes is great fun, and a great way to foster family unity. I had a friend in high school whose family had a secret signal for needing to go the bathroom. They would raise their fist to their chin, their thumb touching their lips. This came in a lot handier than you might think. Picture being in the audience somewhere, instead of a child whispering, “I have to go to the bathroom” and someone else whispering back, … Continue reading →

Family Favorites

Here’s a fun idea that fosters a sense of family unity, and that also helps children develop their problem-solving and evaluation skills. The idea is to start a family rating system for books, movies, TV shows, and even pizza or ice-cream. In my literacy work, we don’t only want children to learn to read. We want them to learn to love reading, to love books. There are some truly marvelous, magical children’s books available. And there are some that aren’t. I think it’s important that kids know they don’t have to love all books. As a parent, I definitely want … Continue reading →

Create A Family Book

In a previous blog, I wrote about birthday letters as a way to honor your child each year. This idea came from the book, Everyday Opportunities for Extraordinary Parenting and the ideas jammed inside the book are just that– extraordinary. Another great idea I found is a way to honor your entire family by creating a family book. The family book is a way to chronicle your family’s life and create lasting memories. Interested in creating your own family book? Read on to find out how. Start by purchasing a sturdy photo album or three-ring binder and clear plastic sleeves. … Continue reading →