Family movie night is one exciting day that we all look forward to. So once in a while, we gather in the living room and vote over a movie to watch after we have read and understood its content and age bracket. The movies we watch normally involve incidents like family road trips or family tours to beautiful sceneries; crater lakes, water falls, volcanoes and children’s play centres. While we watch, our children’s question to us is the same all the time. When are we doing this kind of fun travel? I have never found a brilliant answer to this question. Though we don’t give excuses all the time, we promise them that soon, we shall have similar fun activities.
Like many parents in Uganda, we have not been in position to take them for long distance tours or any fancy destinations. Yes, the reasons why it has not been possible range from limited finances to insufficient free time. However, amidst the enormous challenges, we find means of doing something similar to the big tours.
Fun family activities are educative and they create a bond between members. Memories generated from such are eternal. There’s a lot shared and learnt from each other during activities of this kind. However much difficult it is for us to pull such gatherings off, we must be creative and do something similar to what our children hear and see their peers do with their family members.
Here’s a few things we’ve done to generate the same satisfaction close to that which we see in the movies. We have visited the zoo. A day having lessons about animals and their lifestyle is good enough for our children to discover the beauty of nature. We take them to cultural visits. The Lubiri and cultural centres where we watch traditional dances and listen to folktales are places we visit very often. We visit the beach and build sand castles; we go to children’s play centres as well.
You may be a busy parent. Your finances may be not be sufficient for a family tour, holiday or road trip but you can improvise and do a similar fun visit to an attractive place in your area. Family tours generate everlasting beautiful memories. Utilise them and create something your children will tell your grandchildren about. Touring the world is beautiful and refreshing. If you can afford it, why not do it?