When many of us were growing up, most families played board games. 

  Most of us were expected a to understand and compete in complicated card and board games that were at some point way beyond our cognitive abilities.  Competition was fierce in some homes. Short of watching television there wasn’t much else to do on cold winter evenings.   Boardgames were fun, great family time with lots of excitement and emotion.

 Because of the abundance of stimuli that the current generation of children is exposed to, card and board games simply don’t appeal  as much as they used to. Childrens’ attention spans are short but their competitive fervor is still there and they love spending time with parents in the same way their parents loved spending family time with their parents and older friends.

Recently I’ve discovered a new game. It’s apparently made for children and adolescents. Since I fall in neither of those categories, I’ve been wondering why I enjoy it so much. I have asked my nine-year-old son to help me understand the game, which includes collecting coins and opening up new levels. These were all new concepts for me to grasp. Not being satisfied with just understanding the game, I then asked him to watch me play and assess my abilities.

 Before long, this game became our family game just like card and board games were the games of my childhood.

  The joy and excitement that I remember from my youth continues with my children, in my family thirty years later.

Wii Fit is one of the latest and most fabulous video games created. I vaguely remember the first home video game that I bought for my now twenty-year-old son when he was four years old. How simple and obsolete it seems.   Video games in general have come a long way. They are creative with incredible graphics. Now a family can sweat while playing a game. This game is enjoyable for the whole family and has become the twenty-first century equivalent to the basic card and board games we enjoyed as  children.

 The media is filled with all sorts of references to the breakdown of the traditional family. Mothers and fathers are busy. Children are overscheduled with extracurricular activities as well as having an over abundance of homework assignments and projects. Family life today is hectic and exhausting, much more than in past generations. Playing games brings families together and builds stronger family units.

This particular game has the added bonus of allowing the players to move and develop a love of exercise.  We also know that people living in the twenty-first century are more sedentary than any other generation before them. Our family game includes aerobics, strength training, balance and yoga. All four are important for growing bodies and grown ones as well.

 It addresses the physical, mental and spiritual needs of kids and adults alike. Mastering a level in any of these categories allows the player to open new exercises and challenges. I am the hoola hooping champion in my family (Very good for my oblique muscles)  My sons each are champions of boxing, push-ups and tightrope walking. 

 It becomes clearer and clearer to me,  that I love these activities because I love watching my kids laughing and spending time together with us, doing something that is healthy for them.  I love that I have found an easy way to jump and run like children with my own children. Most importantly, we’ve found a way to spend family time and relax from the stresses of life together.

 Family time with a little edge of tempered competition has never been better.

Shari Krieser,is a mother to 4 children–ranging in ages 9-20! 

She loves playing all kind of interactive games with her kids!

A family is only as strong as its commitment to togetherness

- Wess Fessler