Family Fun…

My family has had season tickets to the Spokane Shock (local arena football) for the past four years.  Recently, I was talking with a friend who was surprised that we took our kids with us to the games.  Four years ago, when Aiden was two, he often fell asleep at the games.  Connar had a hard time sitting through a game, he was bouncy and we took frequent walks around the arena concourse.  We kept taking them to the games with us and now Aiden knows the game and the team better than I do!  If I don’t understand one of the plays, Connar can easily explain what happened.  They are huge fans of the game!  (Can you see the autographs on their jersey’s?)

There’s another reason we take them to the games, and this gets at a deeper parenting belief.  I believe that the only way kids learn the behavior that is appropriate in different settings, is to experience those different settings.  We take our kids as many places as we can and they understand the difference between behavior at a play and behavior at a Shock game!  There have definitely been times we’ve left places and times we’ve wished we hadn’t brought the kids, but now we can go almost anywhere as a family and our kids are usually fantastic.  Investing the time to teach them has been well worth the effort.

I have one more reason we take them to the games, and everywhere else in town (we have lots of adventures)!  I want my kids to recognize the value of family and I want them to choose to spend time with their family as they get older.  I believe that you have to build in the quality family time when they are young, to carry into their teens.  Build the habit, so that as they get older and have more choices, they will be more likely to choose the Shock Game (or whatever Family Fun is offered).  In my mind, this is the same thing as a family dinner.  Spending time together, laughing together, and understanding each other is the way we are building our family.  The best thing about our Shock season tickets, is the number of people we attend with…grandparents and family friends make up our group of 18 and each game is Family Fun!