It’s hard enough to get families in the same room together, but to actually have conversations? Dialogue with actual value and meaning?
Videos by InspireMore
Jennifer Zumbiel, a mother of four who lives in Northern Kentucky, had an epiphany of sorts when she and her family were eating out after church several years ago. She noticed, not for the first time, that at all the tables around them, every single person was glued to one device or another instead of talking.
Facebook
It’s one thing for couples who have been married for decades upon decades to sit through an entire meal in silence. It’s quite another when these are young families with children — children who are only going to want to hang out with their families until they reach their teenage years. If you think back to your own teenage years, we can bet there are only a handful of times where you actually wanted to sit down for a family dinner, and, in retrospect, wish you’d spent more quality time with them.
Instagram
And that’s exactly how Jennifer came up with “Togather,”a game designed to bring families together by asking questions, like, “Tell the youngest person what makes them valuable to your family,”or “A fantastic thing I did for a member of our family was… ”Those questions open up the floor for discussion, she says, thereby planting the seeds for cherished memories for years to come.
TogatherMoments
“Anybody can sit around and ask questions through a game,”she said. “But it needed to be something that was interactive and just … dug deeper, because I feel like we only have small moments with our families, and if you can get past the surface questions, you can really connect.â€
The time we have with our family is the time we are given to plant these seeds. What we do with that precious time determines how rich we can make the soil of our family. And when our family gathers those moments and uses them for good, the harvest will be plenty.
Instagram
“Togather”comes in book form and its pages contain more than 100 questions that are printed on stickers. Each person peels off a sticker and answers the question, then passes the book on to the next person. The passing of a physical book and peeling of stickers, Jennifer writes, “achieves 100% involvement.â€
Instagram
So… when was the last time your entire family sat down for a meal or night in together? The next time it happens, take a break from all those screens and get in some good ol’ face-to-face time, because believe us, the kids are going to fly the coop and start families of their own before you know it!
Click here to find out more about “Togather”. And don’t forget to share and let other people know about this creative and thought-provoking game!
Want to be happier in just 5 minutes a day? Sign up for Morning Smile and join over 455,000+ people who start each day with good news.