Family Games Regarding Character Development for Children

Respect

• Learning to respect ourselves and others is an important part of a child's character development. Make a list of two-person scenarios where it is possible to respond in a respectful or disrespectful way such as being brought the wrong meal in a restaurant, a friend breaking one of our toys, or being disciplined by a teacher for being late for school. Assign the roles to two different family members and ask them each to roll a dice. A "1" signifies the least respectful attitude and "6" is the most respectful. They should then act out the situation in as respectful or disrespectful way as the dice has indicated. This is a great way of discovering how different responses produce different reactions.

Empathy

• Developing empathy with other people helps resolve both internal and external conflicts. Each family member should be assigned the role of another family member. Then set up a situation where there has been regular family conflict, such as doing homework, or a teenager wanting to stay out late. The aim of the game is to discuss the issue with each person reasoning from their assigned character's viewpoint. Participants should avoid crude mimicry and actually argue constructively for the other's point of view.

Determination and overcoming Fear

• Pick an outing that will provoke a challenge for everyone in the family. These challenges might be quite different for each person, such as a trip to the fairground where one person who is scared of heights will go on a ferris wheel, one person who is trying to lose weight will avoid toffee apples, and one person who always gets lost will promise to hold an adult's hand the whole time. Each family member should give the others points for every time they see them dealing with a challenge in a positive way. The aim of the game is to understand how life holds challenges for everyone, that we should encourage others to overcome theirs and do our best in situations we find challenging.

Compliment Badges

• Paying genuine compliments should bring out the best of character in both the giver and the recipient, but some people find them difficult to offer and receive. To help overcome this, each family member should keep a private journal for a day, writing down complimentary things they have thought about other family members. At the end of the day, each family member should make one badge (from cardboard and a safety pin) for each person in the family, which states a complimentary thought from the day's list and a small illustration. They should then present their badges.