I have a rule about asking more questions. Basically if there is a question I want to ask, I have to ask it. Maybe I will share some of the Q/A’s here.
Yesterday at Mahoney State Park there was another family at the playground and they were all playing together really well. They had four kids, ranging from 6 or so to an older teenage boy. All four kids seemed to be engaged with each other in various games.
I asked the parents a few questions and I think that the two most interesting answers dealt with how they get them all to play together and how they spend their Friday nights. First of all, they said that in any activity they do as a family they try to find a way to get everyone involved so that the older kids are interacting more with the younger kids, rather than doing their own thing. They also encourage the older kids to play at the littler kids’ levels.
They also shared with me that on Friday nights they have ‘Special Treat Night’ where one kid gets to pick what they eat for dinner and then after dinner they play games – usually one for the younger kids and then after they are asleep they play a game for the older kids.
It seemed like they had to work hard to get where they were, and probably had to make some sacrifices. In the end they seemed very excited about where it has gotten them and were very excited to share with me.
After we left the playground to say goodbye to the Connors, who were playing tennis, we saw the family again at the tennis courts, playing ‘triples’, with three members of the family on each side of the court.