Today's high-tech in demand, on command gadget society makes connecting with kids on a budget difficult for parents who are struggling financially. When it seems everyone has a cellular phone, an iEverything and fancy computerized gadgeted dohickies, it's hard to keep up with the Joneses. While all this tech-gadgetry is fantastic and can make life easier in many ways, the one thing all the expensive toys can't do is bond people together as a family.
Start Family Bonding Young
Family outings and bonding should start from the moment a family becomes more than one. Whether couples are childless or have many children, it's important for them to spend time together. Husbands and wives need family bonding time too, even before children are born.
However, if a family stars bonding activities from the time children are very young, they will grow up enjoying those activities from the beginning. That's a lot easier than talking freedom-loving, gadget-worshipping teens into family bonding time.
Old Standby: Park and Picnic
Picnics in the park while spending the day catching a Frisbee, throwing around a ball, and chasing each other up and down a slide while giggling and laughing in the sunlight and fresh air don't only provide bonding experience, but they're healthy too. Exercise, sunlight, fun and laughter bring the family together and the cost for the park is free, while the picnic is only the cost of a meal the family would have paid to eat at home anyway.
Family Dinners Together
Nothing can bring a family together like sitting down in the evening after a day of running in different directions and sharing a meal and laughter together. Make sure each family member gets to share about his day and everyone gets the same amount of time to talk about and discuss what is important in his life. Whether it's simply talking about school and grades or a bad day at the office, a family will bond over these shared struggles and good food.
Ballgames and Ball Parks
Whether it's the local girls' softball league of a AAA baseball game, or just a pickup game on the corner vacant lot, ballgames can bring a family together. The AA and AAA baseball games are a blast, with mascots and fun during each inning change. Tickets to minor league games aren't that expensive, and tickets to a local pickup game on the corner are free, or in this case, priceless.
If there are no minor league teams or ball parks in your area, find a baseball diamond and a bat and glove and go play. Go down to the local elementary school or YMCA and take a basketball and get into a pickup game shooting hoops.
Walking for Health and Bonding
Walking is one of the healthiest activities for exercise, and a family that walks and talks together can get healthy, maintain an ideal weight, and talk while they walk. Whether it's around a college campus track or around the neighborhood, walking is something just about everyone in the family can do together.
Bike Riding
Like walking, riding a bike is good exercise and can be a fun activity for the entire family. Whether it's a leisurely ride for husband and wife or a race for son and dad to the corner and back, or a bike ride down the street to the ice cream shop and then a bike race back home to work off the ice cream, bike riding is inexpensive and can be something kids and parents look forward to together.
Arts and Crafts
When physical activity isn't the ticket or the weather is bad, arts and crafts inside the home can be a fun bonding activity that serves multiple purposes. The family can make decorations and ornaments for the home, such as picture frames, curtains, pillows and more or everyone can make gifts or crafts to sell and make money while talking and bonding together. Scraps and crafting supplies don't have to be expensive and the kids and parents can come up with creative ways to use leftover supplies for each project.
Home Improvement and Family Improvement
Working together to make the home a better place to live is another great family activity. Whether it's trimming a tree, installing a new door or replacing a broken window, there are many educational and bonding experiences to be had in learning how to do minor household repairs together.
Kids learn valuable skills while taking with them the knowledge and experience of time spent with mom or dad (or even grandma or grandpa) and the satisfaction of knowing they helped make the home a better place for the entire family.
Bring it All Home
Sharing these activities together are just a start on bonding with the family on a budget. There are many additional ideas that can be spun from these basics and used to expand the bonding and time spent together as a family. Let the kids share ideas for what they would like to do for family togetherness as well. Parents might just be surprised what those little minds can create when given the chance and freedom to do so.
Michelle L Devon - ~~Michelle Devon has 15 years of writing and over a decade of editorial experience, working with hundreds of publications and ...
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