Need a reason to get the kids off the couch, away from the Wii, to eat dinner together or grab a free ice cream cone? Here are four special days coming up this month to help you achieve your goal.

Wednesday, Sept. 23, has been designated Hasbro National Family Game Night. Yes, the company that brings you Battleship, Candyland and Yahtzee, wants you to take out a game and play it that night. Of course this is one of those made up holidays for which Hallmark might sell cards. But playing games is one of my family's favorite things to do and luckily, we have enough so I won't have to zip out and buy any. We love Uno (it's easy for the youngest family member), Scrabble and Monopoly (funny how this date coincides with the recent release of Monopoly City, the latest edition of that game). I really like the thought of taking a night to sit on the floor and play one of our favorite games.

On Thursday, Sept. 24, hussle on over to any Cold Stone Creamery for free ice cream. CSC will cap off its 
monthlong celebration of the eighth annual World's Largest Ice Cream Social and support for the Make-A-Wish Foundation on Thursday with free ice cream and family fun. From 5 to 8 p.m. you can head
  to your local CSC and pick up a 3-ounce serving of ice cream made Make-A-Wish kid Jack, that is complete with sweet cream ice cream mixed with brownie, sprinkles and caramel. You get the tasty stuff by making a donation to Make-A-Wish. Find a CSC near you here. And remember, free ice cream doesn't have any calories.

Now to get your kids off the couch and the TV turned off, Saturday, Sept. 26 is the Worldwide Day of Play in which Nickelodeon goes dark for three hours (maybe it is the worldwide 1/8 of a Day of Play). The hope is to get the kids up and moving and not just hanging out  with SpongeBob. It's a noble gesture and I know this will be a good day to run around at the park. Maybe it's good that this comes after the ice cream party.

Finally Monday, Sept. 28 is Family Day - A Day to Eat Dinner with Your Children, designated as such by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University. On that Monday night you can find out what their day was like, tell them what you did at work, find out what they are listening to on their iPod (but you probably should already know that).

Follow them or not, it's up to you. But they do give a good starting point to bring your family a little closer.

-- Sherry Robinson