12/12/2009 11:47:58
Round the table games....
I came upon these truly wonderful cards by accident when I was surfing the internet one afternoon - and I bought 3 sets of them to try out. The first one we tried was Family Talk then we had fun with Family Talk 2
Well, I took the Teen Talk cards camping with my friend Nicky and her two boys and my two kids .... and we had such a laugh, discovered LOADS about each other we never knew ( like Nicky had Mother Theresa's autograph !!!) and we have used them on Sunday lunches with the kids and when the grandparents are down from St. Alban's too - they just get the conversation started and lift it away from from "Eat your greens...." and nagging!
And with Christmas just around the corner - what a great little stocking filler to get the ball moving around the turkey and tinsel table !
So here is Beth Daniels story about how they came about.
"Remember the dinner table conversations that we had with our families when we were kids? What happened to those?
I heard recently on public radio that families are spending 30% less time together than they did just earlier THIS decade! That saddened me and reminded me of a survey I had heard just a few years past. The Associated Press and MTV surveyed today’s youth and asked, “What makes you happiest?” The number one answer was “Spending Time with Family!”
I don’t know if it’s just me, but this seems to be quite the contradiction. Our children WANT to spend time with us, but we are too busy with life’s demands to spend time together as a family!
What is this doing to our children? What is this doing to our verbal communication skills? What is this doing to our sense of self…the sense of belonging within our family?
As an occupational therapist, I’ve studied how engaging people in something purposeful yields positive results whether it is physical, cognitive, mental or psychosocial. I have found the same theory applies to today’s families. If we engage our families as a family, we experience an abundance of positive results.
How can we engage our families?
In my opinion, we need to take advantage of every tiny opportunity of family togetherness when it presents itself no matter where we are…in the car, at the dinner table, at a restaurant, on vacation, ANYWHERE!
When my son was young, I “retired” to be a stay at home mum. I quickly realised that no matter where you work (inside or outside the home), life is incredibly busy. So I stepped back and began to develop a line of conversation games that would help reconnect families. Thanks to the brilliant feedback of my customers, I realised we needed PORTABLE family conversation starters that could go with families no matter where they go.
We created our flagship Family Talk game on a clip and subsequently launched additional games to connect people of all ages. Also, giving in to technological demands, we just launched an iPhone/iTouch application of Family Talk to help families stay connected across the miles or in the same room. Click here to download
So whatever the tool, find ways to capitalise on each and every opportunity for family togetherness no matter where you are! Ask your kids diverse, stimulating questions. Or simply ask them, “What worries you most?” See how that answer may change daily. I am certain you will learn more about each other, you will be more engaged as a family and you will experience an abundance of positive results."
Beth Daniels, MSOT
Founder of Around the Table Games
Feel free to pass this on......