Family Leisure and Recreation: Why This is Important for Families By: Haley Sherman Leisure time is an integral part of family functioning, relationship functioning, and personal well-being. It provides families and couples opportunities to build bonds, feel a sense of solidarity, and create a sense of stability and cohesion. Leisure time and recreation is especially important for military families due to experiencing additional life stressors such as frequent relocations and deployments. Some family leisure and recreation activity ideas are included below, but what is most important is setting aside intentional time together as a family. Family functioning (i.e., cohesion, flexibility, communication, and satisfaction) may improve by spending time participating in leisure and recreation activities as a family. High-quality family leisure does not look like every family member sitting in the same room scrolling on their phones. Instead some cost-effective ways to participate in leisure activities as a family are incorporating simple, daily activities in your family routine such as watching television together, taking family walks, or working on home projects like yardwork or painting a room. Daily leisure activities like these have shown to be beneficial in increasing couple cohesion (i.e., the connection between partners including how well a couple functions) which may impact relationship satisfaction. A final way to incorporate leisure activities into your family routine is to plan family events together such as an annual or bi-annual family vacation, an outdoor trip such as camping, or an overnight white-water rafting trip. Activities like these allow family members to focus on one another without as many outside distractions such as technology, children’s extracurricular events, and household responsibilities. The main goal of family leisure and recreation activities is to facilitate opportunities for families to create meaningful connections and happy memories with one another. Whether your family decides to incorporate more of these activities into your daily routine or wants to take it a step further and plan a family trip, you can’t go wrong if everyone is together and working toward the common goal of connecting with one another! Here are some more family leisure/recreation activities that your family might enjoy: Daily Family Activities Larger Family Activities Other Recreation Activities -Going for a family bike ride -Taking a family walk -Watching a movie or television show -Playing a sport (e.g., basketball, kickball, baseball, tennis) -Playing cards or a board game -Completing a puzzle -Asking open ended questions like “what did you learn today?” or “what was your favorite part of today?” are great ways to facilitate conversations within the family -Taking a family trip/vacation -Going camping -Going white-water rafting -Taking a skiing trip -Going on an overnight hiking/survival trip in the mountains -Going to the beach -Going on a road trip and making extra stops along the way to fun sights/experiences -Hiking -Bowling -Roller/ice skating -Swimming -Going to the zoo or aquarium -Going on a picnic -Horseback riding -Go putt-putt golfing -Building a family garden and grow vegetables together -Team building activities (e.g., ropes course, group games) References: Melton, K. K., Townsend, J., & Hodge, C. J. (2018). The creation of military family leisure experiences. Journal of Family Theory & Review, 10(3), 602-619. https://doi.org/10.1111/jftr.12273 Chandler, K. D., Dattilo, J., Taff, B. D., & Moeller, J. (2018). Leisure experiences of military couples postdeployment. Family Relations, 67(5), 630-643. https://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12321 Hawkins, B. L., Townsend, J. A., Heath, S. E., & Lipton, K. (2018). The preliminary effects of a recreation-based military family camp on family functioning. American Journal of Recreation Therapy, 17(3), 15-24. https://doi.org/10.5055/ajrt.2018.0164

Sherman, Haley

HOME ABOUT MILITARY REACH LIBRARY UPDATES RESOURCES 24 JULY 2020 FAMILY LEISURE AND RECREATION: WHY THIS IS IMPORTANT FOR FAMILIES ByHaley Sherman Leisure time is an integral part of family functioning, relationship functioning, and personal well-being. It provides families and couples opportunities to build bonds, feel a sense of solidarity, and create a sense of stability and cohesion. Leisure time and recreation is especially important for military families due to experiencing additional life stressors such as frequent relocations and deployments. Some family leisure and recreation activity ideas are included below, but what is most important is setting aside intentional time together as a family. Family functioning (i.e., cohesion, flexibility, communication, and satisfaction) may improve by spending time participating in leisure and recreation activities as a family. High-quality family leisure does not look like every family member sitting in the same room scrolling on their phones. Instead some cost-effective ways to participate in leisure activities as a family are incorporating simple, daily activities in your family routine such as watching television together, taking family walks, or working on home projects like yardwork or painting a room. Daily leisure activities like these have shown to be beneficial in increasing couple cohesion (i.e., the connection between partners including how well a couple functions) which may impact relationship satisfaction. A final way to incorporate leisure activities into your family routine is to plan family events together such as an annual or bi-annual family vacation, an outdoor trip such as camping, or an overnight white-water rafting trip. Activities like these allow family members to focus on one another without as many outside distractions such as technology, children’s extracurricular events, and household responsibilities. The main goal of family leisure and recreation activities is to facilitate opportunities for families to create meaningful connections and happy memories with one another. Whether your family decides to incorporate more of these activities into your daily routine or wants to take it a step further and plan a family trip, you can’t go wrong if everyone is together and working toward the common goal of connecting with one another! RECENT STORIES AMBIGUOUS LOSS AMONG MILITARY FAMILIES May 2024 MILITARY FAMILY READINESS: AN OVERVIEW April 2024 SPOUSE EDUCATION AND CAREER OPPORTUNITIES: WHAT IS SECO? March 2024 Here are some more family leisure/recreation activities that your family might enjoy: Daily Family Activities Larger Family Activities Other Recreation Activities Going for a family bike ride Taking a family walk Watching a movie or television show Playing a sport (e.g., basketball, kickball, baseball, tennis) Playing cards or a board game Completing a puzzle Asking open ended questions like “what did you learn today?” or “what was your favorite part of today?” are great ways to facilitate conversations within the family Taking a family trip/vacation Going camping Going white-water rafting Taking a skiing trip Going on an overnight hiking/survival trip in the mountains Going to the beach Going on a road trip and making extra stops along the way to fun sights/experiences Hiking Bowling Roller/ice skating Swimming Going to the zoo or aquarium Going on a picnic Horseback riding Go putt-putt golfing Building a family garden and grow vegetables together Team building activities (e.g., ropes course, group games) Related Stories in Couples Children THE REALITY OF REINTEGRATION Burke, Benjamin POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER AND FAMILIAL RELATIONSHIPS Tidwell, Allison THE RODGERS JOURNEY: A COAST GUARD VETERAN COUPLE’S FIRSTHAND ACCOUNT OF THEIR TIME IN THE MILITARY Sherman, Haley References Melton, K. K., Townsend, J., & Hodge, C. J. (2018). The creation of military family leisure experiences. Journal of Family Theory & Review, 10(3), 602-619. Link to Source Chandler, K. D., Dattilo, J., Taff, B. D., & Moeller, J. (2018). Leisure experiences of military couples postdeployment. Family Relations, 67(5), 630-643. Link to Source Hawkins, B. L., Townsend, J. A., Heath, S. E., & Lipton, K. (2018). The preliminary effects of a recreation-based military family camp on family functioning. American Journal of Recreation Therapy, 17(3), 15-24. Link to Source MOBILIZING RESEARCH, PROMOTING FAMILY READINESS. Our Partners Auburn University University of Georgia Department of Defense US Department of Agriculture 203 Spidle Hall, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama 36849 Military REACH Department of Human Development and Family Sciences (334) 844-3299 MilitaryREACH@auburn.edu Contact Us Website Feedback Stay Connected with Military REACH These materials were developed as a result of a partnership funded by the Department of Defense (DoD) between the DoD's Office of Military Community and Family Policy and the U.S. Department of Agriculture/National Institute of Food and Agriculture (USDA/NIFA) through a grant/cooperative agreement with Auburn University. USDA/NIFA Award No. 2021-48710-35671. Last Update: March 2024 2017 - 2024 All Right Reserved - Military REACHPrivacy Statement| Accessibility Plan

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