Our family has had a weekly movie night for some time. Lately, though, it's become a source of contention because we can't agree on anything to watch. One member of our family is SO sensitive to tension/action/conflict/loss that even most G-rated movies aren't "safe." This person has been known to have nightmares for weeks after exposure to something other kids deem perfectly harmless. There are meltdowns at the mere suggestion of watching anything beyond PBS cartoons.
This family member would rather cry alone in another room than watch anything that could potentially involve tension/action/conflict/loss. Bobby and I would rather leave the room than watch PBS cartoons week after week.
So, here's the point where we reassess why we've actually created this tradition, right?
I feel it's a fun thing for us to do together as a family. I like to create common memories. It's a pretty easy, pretty harmless tradition. It's also a great motivator for kids to finish their weekly chores on time. And I really, really, really want to share some of my childhood favorites with them. Will PBS cartoons kill me? No, but they won't be very fun and I won't feel better connected to my kids afterwards. Where's the compromise?!
We've talked about having a "game night" instead. The kids give a lukewarm groan. They really love the idea of a movie. Maybe they'll get on board if I call it "games and popcorn" ;)
I'm open to suggestions, should you have any to offer.
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Learn to knit or something. When I don't like watching the thing everyone else does, I find something to do while the movie is on in the same room.
ReplyDeleteHow much do they get to watch pbs at other times? Could you do kid movie night one night (Sat) and family game night with popcorn another night of the week (Fri)? Or with FHE is that too many nights tied up? Maybe when school is out they could do kid movie afternoon one afternoon a week after midweek chores are finished?
I don't know if you take very many videos, but my family has always liked watching our home videos together. To be fair, even if you take tons of videos I doubt the volume is quite enough to support a movie night every week, but it could be something to substitute in once in awhile.
ReplyDeleteI love Brooke's idea. We used to love breaking out the old slide projector. We are also trying to institute a family game night and there are a lot of cool games for kids, even little kids that they might really get into. Our current favorite is "feed the woozle" and it have difficulty adjustments so every child would be challenged and enjoy it. Geek dad has some good suggestions to
ReplyDeleteI really can type good English, my phone just wouldn't let me edit anything. 😜
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