Positive Parenting Friday: How to bond with your kids by playing video games

This week’s video (click image above to see the full video) is about how to bond with your kids by playing video games with them. If your kids aren’t into video games, then doing any activity with them that they like to do will also work toward this goal.

Parents form a strong, mutually respectful relationship with their children by, among other things, spending lots of one-on-one time with them in a pressure-free setting just having fun; and by showing an interest in things that they like.

Playing video games with your kids accomplishes both of these things. You’re doing a fun activity with your kids just for the heck of it, and you’re taking an active interest in something that they enjoy doing.

Kids love to teach you

It’s okay if you’re bad at the games. That’s not the point. Kids LOVE to teach their parents. It makes them feel important, independent, and validated. By teaching you, kids also learn how to communicate, interact, and be patient.

Boys bond through competition

Boys especially bond through competition. This goes for sports, board games, card games, or any activity where you’re competing against each other. It also teaches good sportsmanship.

The family team is reinforced

When you play video games with your kids, you work together toward a common objective, which reinforces the family unit as a team that sticks together and does things to help each other. This carries over into other areas of life, such as doing chores together, cooking, even starting businesses together.

Click on the image above to find out all the other reasons why playing video games with your kids is a great idea. A gentleman recently told me that his best memories from childhood were when he taught his mom how to play video games. He also lamented that that didn’t happen as often as he would have liked. Remember that, take a break, and pick up the Xbox or PS4 (soon 5) controller and clutch it up with your kids!

Happy Gaming!