He Said, She Said - The Art of Getting Your Kids to Talk to You

He Said, She Said - The Art of Getting Your Kids to Talk to You [joke funny kid]

Being a parent isn't easy. Some days just getting everyone in your family all together at the same time for dinner can seem like the "impossible dream". Between after school sports and clubs and working and errands and carpools, it's not surprising that almost half of the parents in a recent survey said they feel a growing distance between themselves and their children.

Today's children have more things to deal with than kids did even twenty years ago. Drugs, violence, mixed messages in advertising, peer pressure, packed schedules and outside activities all add to the pressure they face.

So how, in the midst of all this chaos, do you find time to talk to your kids -- and more importantly, have them talk back to you?

Here are several ideas that can help:

1. Eat dinner together as a family at least three times a week. Conversations flow easier when they happen around the dinner table. If your family is conversationally-challenged in the beginning, think of conversation starters before each meal. Plan a family vacation, letting each child talk about where they'd like to go, or what they'd like to do. Talk about current events, the latest movies or upcoming special events. Ask your children open-ended questions that have to be answered with more than yes or no.

2. Turn off the outside world. Set aside "family time" each night and have everyone turn off their phones, the computers and the television. Let your friends and extended family know that you won't be available during that time, and stick to it. Your kids (especially teenagers) may joke about it, but secretly they'll probably be delighted. Use this time to reconnect with each other. Watch a movie, play board games, take turns reading out loud, but whatever you do, do it together. [joke funny kid]

3. Cook at least one meal a week together. Even your youngest children can do something to help. If your kitchen is too small for everyone to fit, schedule a "helper" or have your children be responsible for different parts of the meal. Your family will grow closer during this time, and your kids may even start the conversations themselves. (You can always get the ball rolling by talking about things you did with your parents. While you may not be cool, chances are your kids think your parents are, and will be impressed).

4. Make it safe for your kids to talk to you. Let them know that you won't get angry or upset if they talk to you about what's going on. If they tell you something "off the record" then let it stay that way. (Emergencies and dangerous situations aside).

5. Listen to what they have to say. If you're working, or doing something else when your child starts to talk to you, they may give up if they know your attention is really somewhere else. Give your child the same courtesy that you'd give to a friend or acquaintance, by giving them your undivided attention when they're speaking.

6. Use active listening skills. Make sure that you understand what your child is telling you. Repeat what they told you and ask questions.

7. Set aside special time to spend with each child. It may be nothing more than taking one child at a time with you when you run errands, but let each child know that you value spending special time with them.

8. Be patient. Don't expect a "perfect" family. If you're not June Cleaver and your husband isn't Howard Cunningham, it's okay. Just remember that perfect families really don't exist outside of television re-runs. [joke funny kid]

Just keep trying, and you'll learn the art of conversation with your kids isn't as hard as you thought!

by Cheryl Antier

Video Games: from Cheats and Tricks to Reviews

Video Games: from Cheats and Tricks to Reviews [game funny joke]

You know, nobody likes a cheater. But when it comes to discovering video game cheats, "cheating" isn't what you're doing. I prefer to think of it as "discovering shortcuts, tips and tricks," or video game hints.

Video games have gotten so complex, since the days of Pong and PacMan, that the game authors have purposely thrown in some back doors and other shortcuts to aid the weary player. The problem is, most of these back doors are so well hidden that these same authors have to leak the game cheats or no one would ever find them on their own.

And it's not only the blood and guts video games that offer cheats. Take the perfectly bloodless "Finding Nemo" for the GameBoy Advanced. Who'd ever guess that there were at least six video game cheat codes hidden there?

Don't make the mistake of thinking that it's just the handhelds either. If you play a video game online, like XBox Live, for example, there are a whole slew of video game hints available.

Of course, video game cheat codes and game hints are sort of useless if you don't own any video games. And that's where video game web sites come in...

Any web site worth visiting will not only have video game reviews and cheats for you to peruse, but they will also have game walkthroughs. Video game walkthroughs differ from cheats in that they actually "walk you through" the process of achieving some goal. Video game cheats, on the other hand, are often cryptic one or two liners like "Enter xx312 in the password field." [game funny joke]

There are different types of video game reviews. Each have their good and bad points. Professional video game reviews are typically written by paid reviewers who work for video game magazines. These are generally well-written, in depth, and definitely worth reading. The other most common writer of video game reviews are the actual end users. While an end user will generally have spent a great deal more time actually playing the various video games on the most popular video game systems, you'll often find that they are men and women of little words. It's not unusual to see a review that says "Wow! Kick Bu** man. I love it!" Now, that's probably actually saying quite a bit about a particular video game, but -- your mileage may vary.

The key point to remember is that you don't want to invest in a video game until at least a couple of people have taken the time to write a review of the game. Of course, if everyone took this advice then there wouldn't be any video game review on any game web sites, because everyone would be waiting for someone else to write the review.

Right up there with video game reviews are video game previews. A video game preview is a lot like a movie trailer. They bundle all of the really exciting parts together and give you a fast and furious glimpse hoping that you'll believe that the entire video game is actually as cool as the 90 seconds of video game previews that they let you get a peek at.

The video game industry is at a crossroads. With more and more people clicking the play game online switch, and video game systems like XBox Live and all of the XBox video games out there, it is quite possible that the days of jamming your joystick alone in your room are slated to become "back in the day." As more and more video game systems opt for Internet connectivity, you're likely to find that you never have to play video games alone again.[game funny joke]

by Rob Oskins

My first post

This is my first post for Funny Joke Humor Games!