 | | | | About the Author Melissa Weekes is a Product Development Specialist. Prior to joining Great Kids® in 2018, she worked as a home visitor with Public Health Services where she used the Growing Great Kids® Curriculum. Melissa lives in Nova Scotia, Canada, with her husband and enjoys any opportunity to be creative! |
Isn’t it delightful to see a child’s exuberant excitement? Their energy erupts in uncontainable hops, jumps, and wiggles like soda bubbles fizzing to the top of a glass. A child’s laughs and smiles are contagious and automatically spread joy to those around them. Having moments of fun with kids has a way of refreshing our souls and reminding us of what’s important in life.
Thankfully, for most little ones, it doesn’t take much to ring the bell on their excitement meter. As a child, I remember that once every summer, my mom would pack up sandwiches and take my sister and me on the train to meet my dad for his lunch break. This low-cost, maximum thrill adventure combined the fun of a train ride with the joy and pride of seeing where my dad worked.
Fun, as a child, was doing things WITH my family.
Rarely, when we think about having fun, are we by ourselves. Fun is multiplied when we enjoy it with others. Connection and relationships are integral to who we are as human beings.1 For the children in our lives, fun is spending time with US, and the best gift we can give them are moments of our time.2 In fact, the joy we share with children and loved ones becomes part of our family’s comradery and identity. We often talk about it for months and years afterward.
However, with the cost of living rising, families are feeling the crunch. Activities that were affordable before are now becoming out of reach for many.
When I searched the web for “family fun,” a whole host of thrilling and expensive activities popped up in my area⸺ laser tag, air trampoline parks, splash adventures, escape rooms,⸺ you name it. The reality is, most people can’t afford to spend their summers emptying their bank accounts at these commercial fun factories.
So, let’s give ourselves permission to take the pressure off. Whether that means we stop comparing our summer plans to those of our neighbors and friends or we adjust our expectations to fit our budget. In last month’s blog, Rachel shared that children don’t need expensive toys, only adults that show up for them in playful moments. This principle applies to our summer plans too.
Thankfully, kids are wired for ANY kind of fun! Right now, for the children in my life, fun looks like:
- playing never-ending games of Old Maid and Go Fish,
- Learning to ride a bike in a safe, abandoned parking lot,
- Going high enough on the oak tree swing to touch the leaves, and
- Building numerous obstacle courses with anything and everything around.
As adults, we can be the ones to initiate fun interactions in everyday opportunities. What are the children in our lives interested in? How can we expand on their interests? Remember, every child and family is unique, so what’s fun to one child or family will look different to another.
Family fun isn’t about expensive trips or outings. Family fun is about spending time together. When we show up with some simple fun for a child in our life, it brings them joy and refreshes our hearts too. Happy Family Fun Month!
References
1. Perry, B. D., & Winfrey, O. (2021). What happened to you? Conversations on trauma, resilience, and healing. Flatiron Books.
2. Siegel, D. J., & Bryson, T. P. (2021). The power of showing up: How parental presence shapes who our kids become and how their brains get wired. Ballantine Books.
