We love to create family traditions in our home, and one of those traditions is Friday Fun Day. Developing a rhythm in your home and establishing things to look forward to helps kids form a sense of identity as a family. You want to create “buy in” with your kids, and by being a family that celebrates fun, children have something they want to be a part of. Traditions strengthen family connections and gives your children a sense of security.
* Compensation was provided by Washington State Dairy Commission via Mode Media. The opinions expressed herein are those of the author and are not indicative of the opinions or positions of Washington State Dairy Commission.
The establishment of Friday fun day was inspired by the Pritchard family (mentors and friends of ours) and their “spoil you rotten day.” For us, Friday is our day. We all look forward to it each week.
Our morning starts out with cereal and milk. We start most mornings with cereal and milk, so this might not seem like a very big deal. However, this is not just any cereal. We buy kids’ cereal. You know, that stuff that you cringe as a mom to buy? You become immediately concerned with the amount of sugar and the dyes that might cause health problems down the road. That’s the stuff we buy. I know…I know…the horror. They eat the stuff once a week. I try to steer toward the lower sugar variation and the ones that seem to have more whole grains, but this is really their choice. Let’s put this in perspective. I teach my children about health and nutrition. I try and provide a well-balanced meal most of the time. I often buy organic for the important stuff and avoid high sugars and dyes. We rarely have a soda and we are not frequenting fast food places. I want to teach moderation, and I think having something like sugared cereal to look forward to once a week can’t be all that bad.
Further, I want to point out that we pair it with milk…yes, I do buy organic for all of you moms that are about to keel over about the sugar. The milk portion of the meal provides some of the healthy nutrients we need. For a lot of details about the health benefits of milk, I would love for you to see this medical news today article. In short, milk is a wonderful source of protein, calcium, choline, potassium, Vitamin D, as well as other nutrients. The health benefits from getting these important nutrients include healthier bones and teeth, help in wound healing, better sleep, better muscle movement, improved blood pressure and the ability to fight against diseases. Milk becomes a fuel for our bodies to function better. My son, especially, keeps the Washington State Dairy Commission in business. Actually, we probably do the same with our daily lattes. I will definitely toast to milk doing a body good.
What else makes Friday so special? Friday, we don’t do homework. The kids come home from school, and it is all play and relaxation. I make sure to carve out special time where my focus is completely on the kids and what THEY want to do. We can become so scheduled and regimented that we don’t take the time to ask what our kids would really enjoy doing with us.
The day ends with our pizza and movie night. We love pizza in our house, and we all wait eagerly for dad to walk through the door. We enjoy our pizza together and then go spend some family time in front of a movie. Sometimes we even do movies on the ceiling, which the kids love.
Friday is a day that brings us together. Friday is a day of celebration. Friday is a fun day. What kind of traditions can you establish with your own family? Maybe you want to adopt our Friday Fun Day tradition. Maybe you want to create your own family time. I’d love to hear about what you do.
One more thought about milk: Sometimes less really is more. When you choose natural milk, you’re getting nine essential nutrients packed into a few natural ingredients. To learn more about what Washington dairy families are doing to keep your milk pure, fresh and local, visit akeyingredient.com. You can also follow along at Facebook at Facebook.com/DairyFarmersofWashington.