Now that summer is at full throttle in the South Valley, we at Morgan Hill Life would like to encourage the families in our community to take some time to have some fun in the sun. It’s a cliché that “families who play together stay together,” but there’s wisdom in that old saying. Parents and children getting out and exploring the world together are building the emotional bonds necessary for a healthy and stable relationship. The time you take to do this with your family now pays back in years to come with children who grow up into successful and self-confident adults.
You can see a big difference in families where time for play is put on the day’s schedule. Children and parents talk and laugh together. And those special moments of enjoying each other’s company as children and parents have fun encourages trust and respect in family members. It opens up lines of communication, which leads to happier and healthier children. Children feel a greater sense of belonging when their parents take time to play with them and take them outdoors.
During the summer months, Morgan Hill and the rest of the South Valley region offers a plethora of opportunities for family playtime. At 4 p.m. Aug. 4, at Villa Mira Monte, the Morgan Hill Historical Society holds its annual community picnic which is a fun time for kids to make new friends in an old-fashioned summer setting. Thursday nights, the downtown district comes alive with the Morgan Hill Downtown Association’s summertime Music Series. The music continues at the Morgan Hill Community Center’s plaza with the Friday Night Music Series put on by the Morgan Hill Chamber of Commerce.
There are lots of great places to take your kids for a walk or hike. The San Pedro Ponds Trail on the corner of Hill Road and San Pedro Avenue is an easy-to-walk trail that winds through ponds full of waterfowl. Harvey Bear County Park has a paved and relatively level two-mile trail perfect for children just getting use to riding bikes. For families who are more adventurous, Mt. Madonna County Park offers trails through the redwood trees a 15-minute drive from downtown Morgan Hill. And Henry Coe State Park offers lots of hilly climbs through oak forests and chaparral country.
For a little cultural exploration, visit the village site at Chitactac Adams County Park along Watsonville Road to help young people appreciate the Native Americans who lived here for centuries before Europeans arrived in California. And the Morgan Hill Library offers many fun opportunities for families – including storytelling sessions and craft making and food preparation workshops. Or take an hour or two to spend time at one of Morgan Hill’s many fine municipal parks and get some exercise shooting hoops or kicking a soccer ball.
Too many kids these days get caught up in the high-tech gadgets and lose out on childhood family memories. Take some time to help your children turn off the virtual world and learn to enjoy the real world with your entire family. Get out and go play. The family that plays together, stays together.