How to connect with your kids.....teens

13 years ago

Mush's post on jigsaw puzzles reminded me of what we did when my kids were little, or not so little.

I would start a jigsaw puzzle on the dining room table, and sure enough kids would start stopping by the table and putting in a piece or two. When they were small we used 500 piece puzzles (a favorite was a Disney character one), but as they grew the puzzles got larger.

The best part of it was while anyone was working on the puzzle it was a good time to talk to them. Especially the teens, even their friends joined in to the puzzle. Just walk in the door and sit down and find a few pieces that fit, all were welcome.

It was on the dining room table and for dinner I would just throw a cloth over it to protect it.

It made for a lot of fun togetherness time and time to talk out their problems too.

I sure miss that puzzle on the table these days.

And, of course, there was all ways a missing piece or two that "just happened" to be in someone's pocket so they could "put in the LAST piece"!

Kathy G in MI

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Comments (10)

Terri_PacNW
13 years ago
We did puzzles growing up too...my mom, brother and I. My great grandmother always had a puzzle going on a card table in the sitting room.

My middle son..HATES puzzles...they drive him up the wall. He's a very literal mind. LOL
donna_oh
13 years ago
I used to (before the 3 stray cat days) have a puzzle going on the dinning room table, & as you said, kids would come in & work on it. We had lots of fun--

Donna (^_^)
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juellie1962
13 years ago
I sure wish I would've thought of that while my kids were teens; I REALLY wish I had those years to do over!
sleeperblues
13 years ago
I hate jigsaw puzzles, I find them boring and frustrating. But my family loves them. The dining room table was always the gathering place during the holidays with the puzzle, and even if you weren't doing the puzzle you'd hang out there.
joyfulguy
13 years ago
When Sue and I used to do puzzles (45 years ago) ...

... she'd put in 9 pieces while I was able to find about one!

ole joyful
moonie_57 (8 NC)
13 years ago
We are also a puzzle family. And use the dining room table. I always put a piece of cardboard on top, then the tablecloth.

When the kids were little we always glued them to poster board then hung them in their rooms.

Puzzles aren't made as nice as they once were.
kathi_mdgd
13 years ago
We also used to do puzzles,and 2 of my sisters in their late 70's still have one going all the time,as does my DIL.My Dil decoupages hers and my son makes frames so they can hang them.She recently finished one of the N.Y. skyline at night that she's going to give to me,and i gave her a 1000 pc patriotic one to do for my son.

Moonie i don't know where you shop,but there are a lot of beautiful puzzles out there and there are also puzzle catalogs available.

There is always one going on,on the table in my oncologist office as well.
Kathi
lunchlady1948
13 years ago
At my senior center there is always one going on, I have necer enjoyed them. I am like Joyfulguy~~~I would probable be able to add the last piece:(
mariend
13 years ago
When we traveled in our RV and stayed at different resorts (like Thousand Trails & Coast to Coast) there were always several set up on tables in the rec room and anyone could go and work on them. Excellent way to meet new people while traveling.
cwnev
13 years ago
I love doing them and always had one going on the table. Then we got cats.... need I say more? They always want to see what you are doing and even though they aren't allowed on the table they jump up to see what you are doing and scatter them.

I thought of getting a puzzle keeper this christmas so I could put the puzzle away when not actually working on it, but all the reviews said they weren't much good. Except for the 100.00 ones. I don't want to spend that much to keep a puzzle going. I have a closet full of them and we all enjoyed them when the kids were younger and lived here. Even Dad would join in in the evenings and we would spend WAY too many hours doing them. Look up and see it is midnight alot of nights.

How to connect with your kids.....teens

Comments (10)

Terri_PacNW

donna_oh

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