5 Ways to Boost Your Family’s Fun Quotient
Wish your family could lighten up more and share more fun times together? Mighty Mommy has five ways to help.
Cheryl Butler
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5 Ways to Boost Your Family’s Fun Quotient
Do you ever find yourself observing other families when you’re out at the soccer field, waiting to pick your child up after school or sitting in the reception area at your pediatrician’s office? Do you specifically zoning in on the ones that seem to have their acts together—or better yet who are interacting with their kids while laughing and having a good time—you know—actually having fun?
It’s easy to pick out the cranky families who are trying to survive meltdowns at the grocery store or find a way to coax their overtired child off the playground before they lose the last bit of their already depleted patience. But how about finding those family units that are in that same store or playground that are having the time of their lives? I’ll tell you what—when you do find yourself amongst those happy-go-lucky moms, dads, and kids, it’s not only refreshing and uplifting—it’s also contagious. See Also: No Whining Zone
So why do some families seem to have an easier time being more joyful than others? Mighty Mommy has five ways you can boost your own family’s fun quotient.
Tip #1: Get into the Habit of Smiling
Before you think this tip is either way too simple or even a bit lame, please hear me out. Your face has 44 muscles in it that allow you make more than 5,000 different types of expressions, many of which are smiles. And when you’re happy, your body pumps out all kinds of feel-good endorphins. This reaction has been studied since the 1980s and has been proven a number of times. An article on Smithsonian.com showed that smiling, even forced, causes our bodies to produce physiological changes that reflect the emotion, such as changes in heart and breathing rate.
So now that we have the scientific reasons of why smiling is so good for us, let’s not overlook how great it feels to have someone share a smile with us. Or how about how wonderful it is to notice someone smiling at something cute that one of your kids just did? Smiling isn’t hard to do and the more you crack a big, wide grin, the more apt you’ll want to do it. Families that smile together have lots more fun together! Read this article by my colleague, Lisa B. Marshall, The Public Speaker, “Why Smiling is Required.”
Tip #2: Simplify Your Life
Most families I know are living jam-packed lives that require hopping from school to work to sports activities, music lessons, work meetings, errands, doctor appointments, grocery shopping, carpooling, and everything else in between only to wake up the next day and start the cycle all over again. One way my family found more fun was to cut back on being so overscheduled and simplify our daily running around.
Think about what’s important and what you can do away with. You may be able to get rid of some possessions and unclutter areas of your home, or you may be able to eliminate certain stressors such as signing your child up for more than one activity at a time. Lessening the time you’re on the go allows your family more time to “chillax” and enjoy your own backyard and each other. See Also: 6 Ways to Spring Clean Your Parenting Life
Tip #3: Enjoy Mother Nature
In recent years, numerous experimental psychology studies have linked exposure to nature with increased energy and heightened sense of well-being. As the noise of our crazy culture fades, your mind calms and you experience silence and stillness. Getting outdoors with our families can lighten our moods and help us relax and be comfortable in our own skin. When you’re exposed to the elements of nature, there is nothing to compete with such as 24/7 technology, incoming texts, overdue bills, and book reports. Instead you can be frolicking with your kids and puppy on a hiking trail or splashing each other in the waves or even planting a garden together. When you invite Mother Nature to spend more time with you and your family, you’ll get back to basics and start enjoying some good, old-fashioned family fun. See Also: Fun Ways to Keep Your Kids Active
Tip #4: Do the Unexpected
While I’m a true believer in establishing solid routines into my family’s everyday lifestyle, I also believe that it’s easy to get into a rut if you don’t shake things up regularly too, so one way you can up the anti on your fun quotient is to implement unexpected surprises.
Adding a surprising element to the ordinary can really do wonders for everyone’s spirits, including your own. I love finding ways to surprise my family by doing things like hiding a few dollars under one random cereal bowl in the morning, or putting a set of gag buck teeth in their lunch bag. I’ve even taped a silly poster to the inside of the shower so when the kids get up all cranky and tired, they open the shower curtain and see something that makes them laugh. The options are endless and I guarantee you’ll have the most fun by coming up with new surprises!
Tip #5: Play Together
If you want to observe the meaning of fun, take some time to observe kids who are playing together. Whether it’s swinging high in the sky on the playground, building sand castles at the beach or driving Tonka trucks and tractors through piles of dirt in the backyard, children know how to unwind and have a good time because they know how to enjoy playtime. Even if you’re family has never been big on board games you won’t know what you might be missing if you don’t give one a try. There are plenty of new games on the market such as Sort it Out, (similar to Trivial Pursuit), Word on the Street, (similar to Scrabble), and Shake Up (a fun version of Sorry) to try. Break up the ho-hum homework pattern and play a game of cards or checkers instead. You can use family playtime to loosen up, laugh, connect, and of course, have fun!
How does your family have fun together? Check back next week for more Mighty Mommy tips. If you have a question or a suggestion for a future Mighty Mommy episode, please e-mail me at mommy@quickanddirtytips.comcreate new email.
Check out the Mighty Mommy Facebook page where I share lots of quick parenting tips all week long. You can also follow me on Twitter @MightyMommy or join me on Pinterest.com where you can visit all of my family-friendly boards.
I hope you have a fun-filled week and as always—Happy Parenting!
Image courtesy of Shutterstock.
About the Author
Cheryl L. Butler was the host of the Mighty Mommy podcast for nine years from 2012 to 2021. She is the mother of eight children. Her experiences with infertility, adoption, seven pregnancies, and raising children with developmental delays have helped her become a resource on the joys and challenges of parenting. You can reach her by email.