A woman's view: 5 Ways to get the most out of the game, with kids

As my family and I have attended USU events (sporting and otherwise) I have learned through out each event how I can make it better/easier/more enjoyable with and for my kids.  At USU sporting events it is hard to miss families getting along and enjoying themselves.  So, I try to observe for a few moments how these families are “getting along” with their kids at the events.  I try to see what is making it work for them (food, activities, personal attention) so that I can hopefully use it sometime or immediately with our family while we are out.  These are a few things that I have come up with:

Bring plenty of Snacks/Treats with you to the event - Food is always a good way to entertain, distract, and make people happy!  Especially Kiddos!  Easy snacks to bring with you to a game would be: bottled water, little juice packs, fruit snacks, granola bars, dry cereal in a baggie, string cheese, pretzels.  Basically anything that is easy and light for you to tuck in your bag.  Make sure you follow the rule: “pack out what you pack in”.

Make sure you wear your Aggie Gear - Our kids LOVE to have anything “Aggie” to wear at any time of the week.  We especially like to make sure we wear our Aggie gear to the games that we attend.  I love getting ready for a game and our kids are running around the house searching for their shirts and making sure the other sibling has found their own shirt to wear.  Wearing “Aggie Gear” also helps the kids to feel like they are a part of the game and they will want to participate more with cheering and enjoying their time.

Talk to them about the game before hand - USU is a big part of our lifestyle between education, sports, volunteering, and being an Alumni…so it is not unusual for us to have conversations with our kids or at least in ear shot range of our kids about USU and what is going on with it.  Our kids know when/where/what we are doing when we are heading for a game or an event with USU.  They have been prepared for the fun & excitement of the event.  We also place expectations on them….they know that we are all at the game to watch and listen to it.  They know that we are going to try and stay the entire game, and they know that we will cheer and support the USU team playing.

Cheer Loud & Enjoy Game - With all the time that was needed to prepare to get to the game (planning, driving, food, etc)….you need to make sure that when you are there you are enjoying it!  When we are excited about the game/event we are attending our kids are so much more excited about attending it with us.  We also tell our kids that this is a place where they CAN be LOUD!  We are always telling them to talk more softly….NOT AT THE GAMES THOUGH!  We encourage them to be very loud.  It’s fun to hear/see them cheer loudly.

Have a Love for USU - We have found as long as we are excited and have a true love for something…it can become contagious.  Our kids already LOVE USU and they love any event that we participate in with USU.

I hope these suggestions will help you get your kids/family up to a USU sporting event soon!  It is a great way to create “Future Aggies” and family memories.

What works for your family?

Post provided by guest writer and alumna Amber Minchey '01