Make sure your home team is prepared for the big game - Sentinel & Enterprise

Tonight, millions of fans of all ages will tune in all across the country as the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs take to the gridiron. This year, Miami will surpass New Orleans as the city to host the most Super Bowls — 11 in all.

Families all across America are getting ready to kick off, too, by gearing up for Super Bowl LIV together. And when kids are treated as part of the family team, it can make it more fun and meaningful for children as well as parents.

Here’s what families can do to keep the Super Bowl event at home a fun and positive experience for kids, no matter which team you’ll be cheering for on Sunday.

It really helps to kick things off by making a plan together. Planning ahead helps to gets the kids and parents into the spirit and gives kids a role, no matter how tiny, in preparations from which everyone can benefit. “No job too small” is our mantra. And when parents make a bid to include their kids in the festivities, kids are more apt to feel like they belong and are valued.

Even the youngest members of the family can participate. I used to have the littlest helpers fluff couch pillows and put the game blankets out.

Every party requires a run to the market, so once at the grocery store, simply holding a list for Mom or Dad can be a big help. Older kids can aid in finding ingredients and helping younger siblings check those items off the list as you roll down the aisles. All of this promotes teamwork, builds exciting anticipation and teaches kids how to prepare for additional family members and friends, guests who’ll be bringing appetizers along with their appetites later.

Once home, helping in the kitchen putting groceries away, washing veggies, mixing recipes, and making signs for dips, pizza and chicken wings helps kids take an active role in the pregame meal preparations.

Our daughter, who has two young sons, each of whom plays football, says that in the beginning, it was fun to watch the pro games on Sundays, particularly because her own kids enjoy the sport so much. And now that she has become such a fan, her interest in the sport has grown and she has also gotten into learning more about the game itself, and that has made watching football with her family even more satisfying.

Here’s what she has to say to parents about planning a Super Bowl party as a family, especially as a busy mom working full time with two young sons.

“We start with figuring out our Super Bowl menu by discussing what snacks we want and then we go shopping for them. We keep it fun, and everyone helps to locate items and load the cart. When we get home, we spend some time making colorful signs for our favorite teams and players. It helps to keep handy arts-and-crafts stuff in easy containers for the kids to take out and use whenever they want to. Then we pick out our jersey or game gear to wear and, finally, add the football eye paint for fun.”

They agree beforehand, when everyone’s calm, that if anyone gets grumpy or argumentative at all during the day, they don’t get to stay up and watch the whole game because it probably means they’re too tired.

If you really want to get into it, just before kickoff, she suggests turning up the volume a little to get your little fans pumped up, as if you’re actually in the stands, and then everyone can get settled into their favorite seat.

If you have young children, you can bathe them early and get them into their comfy jammies just in case they don’t make it past halftime. And now that the boys are bigger, they stay up for the entire game, sometimes springing out of their seats, fist-pumping the air and each other when their team runs the ball after an awesome pass, or calling a play before a referee explains a flag to a whole nation seemingly on the edge of its living-room seat.

Of course, for Super Bowl, her kids get to stay up. It has become tradition with the understanding that they will be at the end of the driveway catching the bus and on their way to school the next morning, no questions asked. And that’s the deal. So far, it’s working out.

Even a New York teen who was recently in the news making a pitch for changing Super Bowl Sunday to Super Bowl Saturday has our daughter doubling down with a big smile, saying, “They should just make the day after the Super Bowl a national holiday. It’s one of the most requested days off by employees, but until then, we all know the drill.”

The most important thing to remember is to keep it fun and work together. You can coach kids to become team players as you give them tasks like making banners and flags and posters for their favorite teams and players. They can help at home by participating in the party planning right along with you.

The key to fun is doing things for the party as a team.

Here’s a list of tips and ideas to help make Super Bowl Sunday a really fun day for everyone in the family.

— Give each family member a say as to what will be on the Super Bowl menu.

— Get out the face paints and get in the team spirit.

— Wear your chosen team’s colors — jerseys, hats, scarves, beads and football flair.

— As a family, decorate the house with drawings, pictures, logos, cool stats and fun facts of the teams and players you each admire surrounding Super Bowl LIV.

— Read a kids’ book about football together before the game.

— Vote for the best commercials and talk about what made them memorable.

— Have family and friends rate the halftime show (this year, it’s Jennifer Lopez and Shakira) from 1-10 using football ballots the kids make.

— Conduct push-up, chin-up and sit-up contests for bragging rights as part of pregame and halftime drills to get everyone’s carb-loaded blood flowing.

— Have a dance party at halftime.

— Lay the ground rules beforehand when it comes to Super Bowl etiquette as a family for what’s considered fair play for your family. For example, during the game, you might decide to make it clear that keeping the area in front of the TV a walk-free zone out of courtesy for others.

— Remember to operate from a stance of good sportsmanship, especially when family members or friends are rooting for opposing teams.

— And always help to clean up after yourself and others when the game’s over.

Have fun!

Bonnie J. Toomey teaches at Plymouth State University and writes about writing, learning and life in the 21st century. You can follow Parent Forward on Twitter at https://twitter.com/bonniejtoomey. Learn more at www.parentforward.blogspot.com or visit bonniejtoomey.com.

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https://www.sentinelandenterprise.com/2020/02/03/make-sure-your-home-team-is-prepared-for-the-big-game/

2020-02-03 15:45:31Z
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