• Ask your kids what they would like to do—they might surprise you!
• If you usually spend your family time at home, try going out to spend time together. Eat dinner at a new restaurant, spend an afternoon at the beach, or go to a hands-on museum. Find things that your whole family is interested in doing.
• Conversely, if you usually go out, spend some time at home together. Make dinner together, play a board game, toss a frisbee, or play lawn games. Try to avoid doing the same thing every week.
• Young children enjoy exploring places they’ve never been before. Take your child to new places, such as a train depot, a radio station, or to a park where you can rent a paddleboat.
• Be active together—go on a family bike ride, play a game of touch football, go swimming at the local pool, or play on a playground.
• Follow your child’s interests and plan family activities around what they want to do. (Take turns between family members so you’re not doing the same thing repeatedly.) Some young teenagers enjoy sports, art, music, or visiting a certain store. As kids get older, they hear from their friends about places and activities they’d like to explore.

By involving everyone in your family activity planning process, you can make sure you go places and do things everyone is happy with. Take a little extra time to plan out your activities and get input from your family members, and everyone will have a better time because of it!

Reprinted with permission from Search Institute®. Copyright © 2009 Search Institute, Minneapolis, MN; 800-888-7828; www.search-institute.org. All rights reserved.