Building community at home – connecting Parents Partners and Kids
Today your kids are in their own Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace social networks and you may feel a little left out
You’re driving your car. The kids are texting. They have their own social networks, they think they are connecting with all the people in their life. Guess who’s left out? The real people in their life. The people in their family/extended family/special friends/your friends – you know, everyone who thirty years ago used to be who they connected with. Today your kids are in their own Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace social networks and you may feel a little left out.
Get the family into the same community space – update and connect – but how do I get quality time plus family time plus an actual focus on connecting with everyone?
Set a space at home or on vacation for family connection to happen
A family of four has four people with their own lives and new events every day. In a short passage of time, major events in each person’s life happen and thus their deepest feelings and opinions about life are changed or are re-formed in subtle ways. Who knows about that, who do you share that change with, how can you set a space for that sharing to happen?
Some communications are best done in person
Some communications are best done in person, and when you set aside a quick 60 minutes for everyone to physically be in one place at the same time with the intention of connecting, important communication can happen. How many family meetings have been two struggles – one to get everyone in the same place at the same time, and two, to get everyone on the same page when they’re there. The Do Tell board game can help with that. – the board sets the space and the framework for sharing and connecting, the playing allows the connecting, and the players become the audience and the sharers/performers.