There
are 23 Heart-to-Heart games that
can be played whenever Mom or Dad feel the family needs
to work on something. Parents can choose which games to
play on which days depending on what behavior or attitude
they feel needs to be worked on. On some days, parents
may choose to let the children play several games. For
example, if Mom notices the children fighting over toys
as they play together, she may have them play the Take
Turns and Share game which encourages them to play well
together. Or, on a particular morning Dad might decide
the family needs to work on family spirit so he would
hang the Family Spirit game card on the Heart-to-Heart
hook for the family to play the entire day. Mom and Dad
could also have each child working on a different game
on the same day. Which games are played, by whom and the
particulars of how the games are played can be adapted
to the needs of the family at the time. It is usually
best to play only one game at a time, and the same game
for everyone. When parents want to stress helping they
might use the Flashing Lighthouse and put the Volunteer
game under the flashing light and then call out, "We
need some help setting the table!". Whoever
is on their toes jumps up and volunteers and collects
some Kudo Kash.
What is the Purpose of each Game?
Building
Values: The idea behind the Heart-to-Heart games is
to let the children work on behaviors that develop values
and to give the parents many chances to "catch
them being good". Whenever a child is caught doing
the good behavior, the parent gives a Kudo Kash award.
If a child forgets to do the good behavior, he or she
might be requird to pay the parent in Kudo Kash. Depending
on the game, the child's age and other pertinent factors,
decide beforehand what amount of Kudo Kash will be paid
to the winner. Each card represents a different and
exciting game. A brief explanation of how each game
might be played is given but the rules can be
changed or modified to fit each family's needs and interests.
The games selected first should be those that will teach
and strengthen those values your family needs most.
Mom might announce, "Today's game is worth
5 Kudo Kash dollars! Who wants to earn five dollars
today? This means that I will test you or check on you
five times during the day and you can win one Kudo Kash
dollar for every time you win. I am pretty tricky, and
so I warn you, you'd better be on your toes."
The games are selected and modified according to the
ages of your children. The principles do not change
but they must be applied in an age-appropriate way.
