Saturday nights at our house are "Daddy's t-shirt night", where all three kids go running to my closet to pick out a t-shirt that they'll wear to bed. It's a fun tradition that they'll always remember, and one I hope they'll carry into their own families some day.
Another thing I try to do is pray with each kid before bed. We switch off each night - I'll pray one night, they'll pray the next. It's a great way to connect, and also gives you a chance to ask what they'd like prayer for, and to find out what happened in their lives that day. Admittedly, I haven't been as diligent with this one lately, but plan to kick it back in gear.
What traditions do you follow in your family?
Confession Time
Looking back on the last couple of weeks since this post, I realized tonight that I have not followed the nightly routine I was describing... not the connecting part, and not the prayer part. I guess I've just been in such a hurry to get the kids tucked in so that I can work on other things, that I've let it slide.
Just now as I was tucking in my oldest daughter and started to walk out of the room, she called after me "Dad, can we pray?" Doh! Man, what a wake up call, and fortunate for me that she still digs those times together. She's nine - that doesn't give me very many more years before she realizes that I'm not Super Dad, and starts to become embarrassed to be seen with me.
I guess I shouldn't assume that's what will happen... it just seems to happen that way often enough. Hopefully I can connect enough with her during these early years, so that we'll have a strong foundation to build on for the soon-to-arrive 'awkward' years.