DADS! Give Us Your Ideas!

As you might know, we are giving away two tickets to the Super Bowl this Saturday to a dad and his son or daughter. (You can place your vote on the most deserving dad here.)

Since a lot of our attention at the Center has been focused on the game this week, I thought it would be appropriate to send a game-centered email …

As in, what games do you play with your kids? We want ideas of quirky, creative games you play so that your home life is fun.

Here are a few we came up with, mostly centered on turning every day activities into fun games. I’m sure you have more, so leave your ideas in the “comments” section.

1.      Turn trips to the grocery store into treasure hunts. If your kids are older, you can break the shopping list into parts and race to see who can complete their list first.

2.      If you live in a warmer climate and need to do a little gardening, go outside and dig for worms. Kids love getting messy! And if it’s still freezing cold where you live, challenge your kids to a jumping jack contest. Who can do the most jumping jacks outside before getting tired or cold?

3.      Make up a silly song about washing dishes, setting the table, or another chore in which the entire family participates. Give everyone a solo, and sing the song as loudly as you can while doing the chore.

4.      Almost any unpleasant task can be turned into a game if you involve points. Create a scoreboard with all sorts of opportunities to win points. Then create a fun reward … It could be a silly dance performed for the winner, or the winner might be rewarded with a day without chores.

5.      Have your younger kids help you create a pie-tin “shower” for the bathtub. A lot of kids dislike bath-time, so helping your kids create a pie-tin shower will add a spice of fun to something that is otherwise drab. Poke some holes in an aluminum pie tin, and tell your kids to hold it over their heads while taking a bath. Then pour warm water into the pie tin. Voila! Instant shower!

6.      I know someone who worked at a pizza parlor. His boss would hide change—say 46 cents—and tell him he wasn’t done cleaning until he found all of the coins. Okay, so this was a little condescending, but the idea could work in a way that is fun for kids … Why not create a game like this out of cleaning? If you want your kids to have fun while helping you clean, challenge them to find the most amount of money. It’s like an Easter Egg hunt, but with pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters.

7.      Make up crazy concoctions when you cook, like grasshopper-gut oatmeal (regular old oatmeal with green food coloring). Have your kids help prepare the menu. You’ll spark their imagination, and have a ball doing it.

Of course, these are just some of our ideas to get started. You probably have some similar “games” of your own, and we want to hear them! Be sure to post game ideas in the comments below.

Finally, dad, make sure you “get in the game” with regard to fathering. Don’t be a spectator! Being an engaged father makes a huge difference in your children’s lives and will have a major impact on your neighborhood, your community, and our culture.

Carey Casey is the CEO of the National Center for Fathering, a nonprofit organization dedicated to changing the culture of fathering in America by enlisting 6.5 million fathers who to make the Championship Fathering Commitment. NCF believes that every child needs a dad they can count on, and uses its resources to inspire and equip men to be the involved fathers, grandfathers and father figures their children need. Subscribe to his weekly email tip by clicking here: “Yes! I want tips on how to be a great dad who loves, coaches, mentors, and inspires my children.