It’s a game Ruth Soukup and her husband, Chuck Soukup, have played with their kids since they were little. It’s called “High, Low, and Interesting.” The simple idea works brilliantly to get children—especially teens—to open up and communicate with their parents.
Every night over dinner, the Florida-based family takes turns sharing their high for the day, their low for the day, and the most interesting thing that happened that day.
“Kids aren’t always the best at expressing themselves,” Ruth told The Epoch Times, “and it would sometimes be hard to get ours to tell us about what happened at school.
“But both my kids are very competitive, and especially when they were little, they loved to play games; we’d have a joke that everything’s a competition, not in a crazy way but in a fun way.”
The couple got the inspiration to play the game years ago when they watched the 1999 film “The Story of Us” in which the characters played by Michelle Pfeiffer and Bruce Willis play a game they call “High and Low.” To get their daughters, Maggie and Annie, excited about playing, the couple added the “interesting” part.
There’s just one rule: everyone has to have at least one high, and a high for every low (two highs and no low is also allowed.) After sharing, each member votes for the most interesting thing—and the winner gets a dollar.
The very first time they played, Annie, then 4, won the game. Given the choice between picking that night’s movie or getting a dollar, she chose the latter, and the tradition stuck.
Now their kids are older—Maggie is about to turn 18 and Annie is 15—and are busy with their friends and doing sports, getting together for dinner doesn’t happen every night.
“We’re lucky if we make it around the dinner table three nights a week,” the mom said.
But “High, Low and Interesting” continues to be a fun part of mealtimes—and when guests come over, they’re encouraged to join in, too. Many times, something someone has shared has led to further conversation, allowing the parents to get more of a glimpse into their daughters’ days. It also makes them more observant, says their mom, about what’s happening around them.
“Sometimes,” Ruth said, ”they’ll come home and be like, ‘Are we having dinner today?’ Because they know they’ve got something interesting, and they know they’re going to win. So, they can be begging to do it, and then other times, of course, they’re like, ‘Oh, I don’t want to play. Why do we have to play this every night?’
“You never know what you’re going to get with teenagers.”
It’s a tough stage of life, says Ruth, who can’t imagine being a teenage girl, with all the regular challenges of emotions, school, and friendships, in the age of social media. Those moments at dinner have become even more precious since it’s the family’s time to connect.
“I think there’s something to be said for being intentional with your family life,” Ruth said, “and even if you don’t have a lot of time, you can still open up conversations. It’s been over 10 years now since we’ve been playing that game, and we still play it every time we eat dinner.
“We’ve always tried to be just really open and honest with our kids. They’re not fully grown adults yet, but they’re pretty great kids. It’s important to us to raise them with faith. I think, knowing that there’s something higher, that there’s a higher purpose, that children are a gift from God is a really important piece of our life.”
