10 Things Active Families Do

1. Educational tripsWhen was the last time you visit the zoo? How about the bird park? Have you been to the new River Safari yet? It may sound a little boring to go see these places but a trip there with family can be a fun and interesting one. Learn and discuss new facts about the animals. This encourages family bonding and makes for a weekend well spent.

2. Activity scheduleSign up for a martial arts class or go swimming with your family on the weekends. Having a schedule that includes everyone will encourage all to be more physically active. You may dread at the idea of it but once you get it going, it becomes something to look forward to every week. To keep it more interesting, change up the activity or location each time.

3. GamesToday there are many video games that have a multiplayer feature. Take advantage of it and have a much more fun gaming experience with your family. Besides those, why not change things up with a board game instead? Relive your childhood with chess, Monopoly or Scrabble. It would be even better if you have the good ol’ card games like Happy Family or just a regular deck of cards for Bluff and maybe Dai Di (without using money of course).

4. Relax togetherWork and/or school can make you quite stressed during the week so your weekends may be your only chance to unwind.

While getting some alone time is good for the soul, consider doing relaxing activities with the family. You can dine out, watch movies or head to East Coast Park for a long walk and maybe a family bike ride.

5. Family holidaysTake a step further by having a vacation together. With plenty of good travel deals around, leave your stresses behind and head for the beach in Port Dickson or Bintan. You’ll be sure to feel refreshed afterwards.

6. Family talksHave a regular family dialogue on any matter to get everyone talking. It encourages communication and improves relationships. Talk about current social issues and educate one another. You can also use this time to share what’s going on at work or school.

7. Have meals togetherEating is Singapore’s favourite past time which also promotes more camaraderie amongst us. It’s a simple gesture yet so effective. The joy of good food and companionship makes for a happier life. If you can’t have all of your day’s meals with your family, don’t worry. At least have breakfast together everyday before you leave the house. If not, pick a different meal or another day.

8. Household choresYour personal schedule can get quite hectic so household chores may be pushed way down on your list of things to do. But you’re not the only busy one in the family so help one another out by dividing the household chores. In this way you involve the whole family and everyone has a part to play in keeping things running smoothly at home.

9. Be spontaneousDoing the same activities every week can be boring and when you get tired of the same old routine, you might slip back into ‘lazy mode’. To avoid that, why not drop all plans for the day and do something fun together? Skipping one day’s worth of tasks won’t hurt.

Want to make things more interesting? Create silly games to challenge one another like, who can do the most cartwheels or play geocaching.

10. Develop a common hobbyTrying something new may sound scary so why not involve the entire family to do it? It takes away the fear and you would have fun doing something you’d probably never do on your own. Having a common interest would then automatically be your regular family activity, improving relationships.