Lessons Learned From a Family Video Game [Sponsored by Smurfs 2]

What Did a Family Video Game Teach Us?

Last week, the popular video game producer Ubisoft sent us a copy of their new Smurfs 2 Video Game for our Wii and challenged to play it as a family.  We’ve had a Wii for years, but have never let the kids use it.  Don’t get me wrong; we aren’t anti-technology for our kids by any means.  They play educational games on their other their other devices and watch educational videos on the computer all the time.  But we’ve just never really wanted to deal with monitoring yet another piece of technology for them, so we’ve decided to leave the Wii out of the equation.  But I though that our new Smurfs 2 Video Game would be a fun way to introduce the kids to the Wii and have some family time, too.  I was pleasantly surprised by the life lessons that a simple family video game taught us…

Lessons We Learned From a Family Video Game

1. Cooperation – Since this particular family video game allows up to 4 players, we were able to play at the same time and cooperate in the game to help the Smurf’s find their Smurf friends.  
2. Communication – In order to cooperate effectively, we had to communicate to one another.  We had to make sure that our Smurf’s stuck together and that required lots of communication!
3. Patience – When I observed Sawyer and Cliff (my fiance) playing Smurfs 2 together, I noticed that Cliff needed to practice lots of patience with Sawyer.  Obviously Cliff has had lots more experience with video games and had to be patient with Sawyer while teaching him and cooperating with his Smurf character.
4. Persistence – Since Sawyer and Priscilla are so new at the Wii, they had to show lots of persistence when trying again and again during some challenging parts of the video game.
5. Unity – I loved how Smurfs 2 required that all of the Smurfs playing work together throughout the game to find their Smurf friends.  It was a fun way to unite as a family toward a common (and fun!) goal.

A Family Video Game Night for Family Fun

When we want to have fun family time at home, we usually have a family movie night.  But now I’m excited that we have another option (with maybe some more lessons learned) with a Family Video Game Night.

If you want to try out Smurfs 2 for your Family Video Game Night, you can find it on Amazon.

 

Do you ever play video games as a family?  Ever had a Family Video Game Night?  I’d love to hear about it in the comment below!

 

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I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls Collective and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own. Please see my disclosure policy.