Family Game Night

It's all the rage now to stay in and have family meals and play family games and spend time as a family....  Well, it's always been all the rage here at our house, but with Dakota getting older, things are starting to get alot easier.  We have always been a very traditional family.  I've stayed at home with the children, making extra money where I can babysitting or currently doing transcription and dad has brought home the bacon (while I fry it up in the pan lol)  We have two girls and two boys and two dogs and a cat and a fish.  We have dinner together every night, made by me and not ordered in, and we have played games and watched movies together ever since the girls, now age 25 and 23, were small.  When the girls were teenagers they were no longer interested in our family time, but now, as adults they have come back into the fold.  Brian, our older son, is almost eighteen and very involved with the family.  The trouble came, however, when all the older people in the family could play a game and little Dakota couldn't keep up.  This caused frustration and tears on his part and aggravation on ours.  Recently, however, we have discoverd Buzz Words and Buzz Words Junior and Apples to Apples and Disney Apples to Apples.  These games are fun for all of us and they are great for vocabulary building and the critical thinking process.  Several times a week we gather around the table and, while there is still some squabbling amongst the boys occasionally, we all laugh and have a great time playing a game and just enjoying being a family.  If you haven't tried playing board games with your family, make it a priority some time soon.  Not only is it fun, but it's educational and you'll be building habits that your children may take with them to their families someday!