Yesterday I had the privilege of being on a panel of authors at the Annual Meeting of the Friends of Tennessee Libraries. One of the pleasures was meeting Patricia McKissack author of Messy Bessy and many other children’s books and lots of fiction and non-fiction adult books (real adults, not the kind who thing sex is a spectator sport or just another form of recreation. It’s time we stopped using adult to mean that kind of thing and use it correctly. Call po*n what it is!).
She told of a game she and her husband often played with their three boys at dinner time called President. One of them would be the president, and the other four would be reporters. The object was to quiz the president just like a real presidential press conference. Of course it started off with easy questions (isn’t that what reporters do to a new president?) but as the kids matured their questions to the other family member grew in relevance and complexity. This simple and fun game caused the boys to pay attention to what was going on in the world. They read more of the paper than the comics and sports. As teenagers they became interested in foreign affairs, taxes, schools, finance, entitlement programs and politics. As good reporters they learned from President Mom, President Dad, and even President Brother. But, mostly they learned by being prepared to be the next president.
That sounds like so much fun! I am sorry we didn’t do that with our kids. Imagine the competition between brothers! Think of what they learned!
I can see it also as a Coach’s News Conference where the family could quiz each other about the current sports scene. Or maybe a Musician’s News Conference where one member could pretend to be a musician releasing a new album or going on tour. Consider a Mayor’s Press Conference, a Senator’s Town Hall Meeting, or some other event which teaches them to answer questions off the cuff and think on their feet! WOW the possibilities are endless.
It’s to late for my kids, but I am going to discuss it with them and see if any of them would like to try it at home. And the best part is, it may not be too late for your family. Try it; I bet you’ll like it! And I’ll also bet it will improve your kids grades! Or, don’t try it, just watch TV, play computer games or with cell phones during meal time and watch your kids grades fall and see all the other bad things that happen from too much time with screens and not enough time relating to family. Let me know how that works for you!
I’m sorry it that last line sounds angry, but I have seen too many kids go the wrong way because of too little time with their family. Anything that will bring a family together or keeps them apart is important enough to get a little worked up about.