Playing together as a Family

The adage is “A family that plays together, stays together” and there is no reason to believe that this is not true. Besides the numerous developmental and relationship benefits which will talk about soon, the most important aspect of playing together as a family is just how much fun it is. Children need to play to build trust and create better relationships with more open communication with their parents. If you can have fun playing with your child, then it just gives everyone a reason to look forward to playtime and it keeps the atmosphere at home relaxed.

How Does Your Child Play?

It seems like a rhetorical question but trying to understand how your child plays is very important information that you need. Your child spends so much time playing with other children and interacting with adults during play that it becomes a very large part of his/her personality and mental/emotional development. Is your child too rambunctious? Does he/she get involved in too much roughhousing and selfish behaviour? Learning about this comes as a shock to many parents but these very same parents can learn about this before others do. If you play with your child regularly, you get a first-hand look at their behaviour and you can make the requisite changes by slowly influencing them to change certain aspects. Explain concepts to your children through role play and they might be able to understand the feelings of others and alternative behaviour patterns.

Essential for Bonding

Now we come to the good part! Playing together as a family creates a series of memorable shared experiences that bring parents and children closer together. Watching your child at play and giving them the opportunity to watch you as well, creates a sense of trust that both of you might not be able to generate any other way. In general, parents are authority figures and caregivers in the eyes of children but seeing them as playmates as well, gives children the impression that they are much more like them. Your family also gets the opportunity to relax together and enjoy each other’s company. Aside from seeing the various aspects that defines your child’s character, you can also get an idea of how they react in certain situations. All in all, your family will develop greater cohesion, trust and understanding between each other.

Adaptability and Better Communication

Another interesting aspect of play is that it puts players into various situations. Playing sports with children improves their hand-eye coordination and team work while puzzles and mental games improve concentration and reasoning abilities. A family that plays regularly is more open to trying to new things that they are not necessarily used to. This can of course go into so many different places, playing outdoors or trying to learn music or make crafts together. Going through a steady stream of activities gets easier and easier because your child can communicate better with you. Practice is something that is important to play as well and the whole family will gain better fluency in this respect. Play opportunities enable families to form a closer bond and to develop more open communication, which will be beneficial for all future situations.