How to Entertain Children With A Movie Night

Entertaining children with a movie night is a great way to bond as a family and have some fun together. Spending quality time with our children isn't always easy due to the responsibilities of home and work life. A movie night allows us, as parents, to enjoy our children and simply relax and put aside worries. Planning a movie night is fairly easy when you enlist the help of your children to make some choices for the event. Here are some tips to help you entertain children with a movie night and enjoy a little closeness and bonding time.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

1. Plan to entertain children with a movie night on a weekly basis. Pick one day a week to do a movie night and try to stick to that night. Children need routine and knowing when to expect a movie night will get them excited throughout the week. What's really nice is that you can use this movie night to your advantage in disciplining your children. Let them know that the movie night is a special treat each week and will only happen if your children are well behaved and do good in school...or any behaviors you wish for your children to display. Talk to your children to figure out the best day of the week to have movie night and allow them to make this decision as well to foster independence. Also, a good time to watch a movie is a few hours before bedtime. Children will be sleepier when the movie is over and you can put them to bed easier.

2. Prepare for movie night with your children by deciding upon a movie and treats. If you have more than one child, allow your children to take turns picking the movie for that week. This way, you'll help to avoid any fights or upset over what movie to watch. Let children know too that you must approve of the movie to be sure it's appropriate for their age. Also, allow your children to pick out treats for the movie night. Set ground rules ahead of time about how you would like them to eat if you want the snacks to be healthy. Let your children each pick out their own snack, with your approval, to help foster their independence and decision making skills. You can also choose to make any dips, brownies, or other treats to share for the movie night.

3. Enjoy a cozy movie night by creating a comfortable seating area for everyone. Be sure that the television is in view from couches and chairs that will be used. Bring out any blankets, pillows, or other items you and your children want to be cozy and comfortable during the movie. My son and I used to put a blanket on the floor with pillows and another blanket and lay down to watch our movie for movie night. This way, we could put the blanket bed in front of the television so as to see every part of the movie well. We've also pulled out the top mattress of his bed to lay for movie night. It just seemed to be more comfortable than the floor. Whatever you choose, allow your children to make themselves comfortable for movie night and be sure everyone is settled in before starting the movie.

4. Check the lighting, volume on the television, and heat or coolness of the room before starting the movie. Making sure everyone is completely comfortable with the lighting in the room, the volume on the TV, and the air circulation can help to make a great movie night more entertaining. Also, if you check these things ahead of time, there will be no getting up to fix things and pausing or interrupting the movie to do so. Decide whether you and your children want the lights on or off, what a good volume on the television is, and how warm or cool you need the room. Let your children help you make these decisions so that everyone is comfortable and they get the chance to help make choices. If any arguments arise, tell your children that the movie will not start until everyone can agree upon the comfort in the room and the television volume. This should help them get along better.

5. Be sure everyone has had a potty break, their snacks ready, and any drinks they want during movie night. When all members of the family are prepared before the movie starts, there will be less interruptions during the movie. Ask your children to get their snacks and drinks before the movie starts. Also, tell them that they need to go to the bathroom before the movie so that no one is getting up and going during the show. Having everything prepared and taken care of ahead of time will allow for more family bonding during the movie. Also, kids tend to get rowdy when interruptions occur so the best way to keep your children calm and relaxed is to have all tasks done prior to starting the movie. Once all snacks, drinks, and bathroom duties are done and in place, you can start the movie and enjoy a great experience with your children.

[kristara]

on 11/8/2009 What a fun idea! 5*

[godfather25]

on 11/7/2009 Great article on entertaining children with a movie night.