Of family leisure time, bonding Families choose different leisure activities

Rebecca Kabaya Lifestyle Writer
It is every parent’s desire to make their family happy. Through hard work, parents fend for children and try their best to meet all their needs.

While most needs are basic daily requirements, there is another area that is important in family bonding and interaction. It is the area of family leisure and entertainment, which is characterised by travelling, holidays, parties and picnics.

Family leisure patterns address family needs for stability, facilitate the development of cohesive relationships, and are related to perceptions of family unity.

The activities associated with family leisure are widely believed to be beneficial for family functioning, improving family bonding, as well as the health of individual family members.

However, families are complex groups comprised of individuals of mixed ages, educations and interests that have different needs and different earnings.

Therefore, this literally means that the kind of leisure activities differ from family to family.
Positive relationships have been reported between family leisure involvement, such as increased family communication and strength.

With the moving of time people have advanced to much more fun ways of relaxing as a family and they now do activities which may be indoors and outdoors.

In an interview with an ‘A’ Level student and a first born in a family of two Blessing Chiripo said their family’s typical leisure moments include special meals at home every Saturday and playing with his brother.

“My parents are both civil servants therefore they cannot afford to take us to expensive vacations so every Saturday night depending on the budget my mom prepares a special meal, bakes a cake and we will have pictures as a family. To me it is pretty exciting because I am a food lover,” he said.

Classy families have various ways of relaxing as a clan that include visiting tourist destinations in the country and even beyond.
Dexter Hodzi who is a father of four said there are well-being benefits from family adventures.

“Though it’s expensive I prefer taking my family to tourism destinations like Vic- Falls, Chinhoyi Caves and Kariba. Last month we were in Kariba boat-cruising and fishing for three days.

“We had some quality family time enjoying ourselves, we were shown where the electricity is coming from and how it is converted from water power, it was very educational and worth it,” he said.

Other families prefer going out for braai at various places where such services are offered. These include KwaMereki, KwaFatso, KwaZindoga, Family 24 and Chikwanha Gardens in Chitungwiza.
Families take this as a bonding time and to know each other better.

Nyasha Runganga said having family leisure is very crucial as it allows them to know each other’s weaknesses and fears. Her family prefers visiting game parks and having picnics at their free time.

“There are places conducive for family talks with so much fresh air which just gives us freshness to let go all our plights and enjoy the moment while it lasts. We usually hug and hold hands for pictures as we capture our great moments together as a family,” she said.

Back in the day soccer used to be one of the sport games where people would go as a family to cheer and support their favourite teams, wearing the same jerseys.

The tables have changed now as soccer matches are now characterised by violence, rowdy behaviour and obscene language which is not conducive for a family set up.

This is just sad for those families who are soccer fanatics this means they can’t go and enjoy as a family.
Karen Phiri said family leisure is all about pleasing her children because they are her first priority and seeing them happy makes her feel relaxed from within.

“We usually prefer going out to places which are child friendly when we go for our family free time.
“We let the children pick the places be it parks or Luna parks. My husband and I prefer that our children have that special and fun time more than us, our job as parents is to monitor them,” she said.

Family leisure implies direct relationships between family leisure variables and family wellness variables including care-giving, protecting, respecting, these things are still highly valued and expected for a family to bond.

Additionally, fostering high quality parent-child communication about online leisure activities and discussion about the child’s motivation to play may also be beneficial.

For example, there are some online movie that requires parent’s restrictions for different children age groups because they will not be suitable for their viewing.

Last but not least, joint recreational activities in the family appear to increase as people are now realising the importance of having some quality and special family time.
Leisure experiences can impact and strengthen family relationships.

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