The “Getting Rid of Debt” Game: If you are one of the many American families with problem debt, don’t try to hide the situation from your children, because they are smart enough to realize that something is wrong.  Instead, sit down with them and explain that in the past you have spent more than you made but you are trying to fix it, and if the whole family works together to make it better, everyone will be happy.  Then brainstorm with your children what you can do as a family to bring in extra money and pay down that debt.  Whether it is through a yard sale or two (or seven!), or having them help you sell items on eBay or whatever, include them in the process and make it a game, rather than a drag!

Playing “House Detective”: This is a game that can work on those rainy days (like the Northeast has been having for the past 2 months!) when your kids are bored and stuck in the house.  If your circuit breaker box has never been labeled, you have your kids run around the house every time you shut off a breaker so you know which room(s) corresponds to what fuse.  Then you can show your kids how to shut down the breaker box in the event of an emergency.  You can also play house detective to find the source of leaky pipes, since kids are particularly good at crawling in places (such as under sinks) that are hard for us adults to reach!