Making Time for Family Time (With a Giveaway!)

Like most families in Silicon Valley, my kids have busier social schedules than their parents.  Every afternoon it seems like they have some kind of sports game, music lesson or other afterschool activity; when they’re free, there’s always some friend clamoring to have a playdate.  Stay-at-home parents and working parents alike find themselves spending time with their kids while shuttling them from activity to activity, or from afterschool care to home.   A friend of mine with a girl in middle school is bemoaning the fact that her daughter now prefers to study at the school library with her friends rather than at home.  My kids are still in elementary school, and I can already relate — sometimes I feel like it’s a wonder we see them at all!

With so much going on, it takes a real effort to carve out time in our schedules for some family time — but spending time together is more important than ever.  Even just eating meals together on a regular basis has been linked to numerous benefits, including better grades in school, reduced risk of obesity, and lower rates of substance abuse, and most experts agree that the family that plays together, stays together.  Whether it’s a monthly ping-pong tournament, a weekly movie night, a Wii dance showdown, a  game of catch-and-throw at the park or a trip to the beach, you’ll be improving your children’s self-esteem, building lifelong bonds and creating lifelong memories.

Giveaway!

EA Games is teaming up with Best Buy for a Family Game Day at Best Buy Santana Row on December 4.  It’s a chance for families to spend time together, playing board games, trying out the latest edition of Family Game Night, and competing as a family to win fabulous prizes.  And to celebrate Family Game Day and the release of Family Game Night 4, EA Games is offering a fantastic gift pack to one lucky Silicon Valley Mamas reader! The gift pack includes:

* A copy of Family Game Night 4 for Wii, XBox or Playstation Move (winner’s choice)
* A Hasbro board game
* A deck of playing cards
* A t-shirt

To enter, leave a comment below, and one lucky winner will be randomly selected December 8. Entry deadline is midnight PST, December 7. For an additional entry, Like our Facebook page.  For a second additional entry, tweet about this giveaway (the tweet MUST include a link to this giveaway post, our twitter name @svmamas and the hashtag #FGN4).

Bonggamom has been trying to beat her kids at a videogame, any videogame, for several years — if she ever succeeds, she’ll be trumpeting her success on her personal blog, Finding Bonggamom.

Disclaimer: The giveaway prize was provided by EA Games.  No compensation was received for running the post or hosting the giveaway.