August 11: Scavenger Hunt

This evening, the kids were itching to do something active. My daughter wanted to bike ride, my son wanted to play pirates. And, of course, after working all day, all my wife and I wanted to do was drop into a comfy chair and relax. So, I summoned up some of that creativity I used to have when I worked as a Copywriter, and I created a Scavenger Hunt game the entire family could play. For all of you other parents out there, here's how it works: (1) Make a list of common things a child can find around the house. For example, "3 things you use in Summer" or "2 things you buy for your dog". (2) Draft a list of about 5 of these "topics" and duplicate the same exact list on a separate piece of paper. (3) Divide the family into 2 teams. This evening, it was me and my daughter vs my wife and my son. (4) Say "go" and each team heads off to locate the items and bring them to a designated area. (5) The first team to bring all of the items to the designated area wins the game. We played twice, and both times the game ended in a tie. Which reminds me, (6) if you you have competitive children, ensure the game always ends in a tie. Otherwise, you'll end up dealing with tantrums, fits and/or fighting for the 15 minutes following the game's end. I know, I know, it's your basic scavenger hunt. But isn't 99% of effective parenting simply all about leveraging what works for others rather than recreating the wheel?