A healthy family plays and laughs

Plato once said, "You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation."

But many families today rarely take time to play. Our lives are so hectic that we often forget our need to play and laugh. We may tell ourselves, "We'll find time to play after all the work is done." Or we tell our children, "We'll play that game tomorrow." But all of the work is never done and tomorrow never seems to come.

One way to make your family stronger is to make time for play and laughter. Maybe some of these tips will help you get started:

1) Set aside time at least every other week for a fun family activity.
2) Don't think of play as expensive. There are many fun activities that cost very little, including having a picnic, playing a board game, reading together, playing charades, creating a scrapbook, attending a parade, going fishing, visiting the library, and many more.
3) Relax without guilt. Time for playing and laughing together is important to your family's health. Don't ruin the fun by talking (or thinking) about the housework, the bills that need to be paid, or the pile of papers on your desk at the office.
4) Use humor to ease tense situations.
5) Laugh with each other, never at each other.

Sources: Traits of a Healthy Family, by Dolores Curran, 1983, pp. 142-150.