My family played a lot of card games and board games growing up (thanks mom and dad). Then, I had no idea how much family time it was providing us with. I now realize how important it was to have that time together as a family and my sisters and I were learning some great card playing skills at the same time. Luckily, my husband also enjoys playing games. Together, we’ve instilled this love of playing games to our children. We often spend time together after supper and on weekends playing card games and board games. In our house, if anyone is heard saying they’re bored or at a loss for what to do, out comes a pack of cards.
Why is playing cards and games important? Not only is it a fun pastime but from the young age of preschoolers – around three years old, kids can start engaging in turn taking while playing games. Turn taking becomes a very important skill that kids should master during their kindergarten years. Kids with few siblings or that stay home with a parent or grandparent during preschool years have little opportunity to turn take and/or share. It is our responsibility to create these moments for our young children. One such way is through playing games. The simple act of taking turns, rolling a dice, lifting a card or moving a token helps children comprehend that they need to wait for their turn, something that occurs often during school.
Not only does playing games help with turn taking but it also provides an opportunity to have conversations with our young children. Sitting together with few outside distractions can help our children feel listened to and valued and can open up many interesting conversations, so make sure to put your phone away. This can lay the ground for the older years when you really want your children chatting with you.
Another really important skill that isn’t mastered until later, school age for some, is the ability to lose. Okay, so truth be told in all the fun game playing I did as a kid I can still be seen throwing a monopoly board when the hotels became too expensive (just kidding – well not really). Losing is hard. For some kids this feels impossible. Practicing losing becomes important for those of us who find it hard to do. Some more relaxed people could care less who crosses the finishing line first but this is not the reality for all. For some this is a practiced skill. Playing simple games together and allowing your child to lose can help them learn a valuable lesson, that it is it’s okay to lose. This becomes important in school when kids are playing games in class or at recess with others, losing graciously is something that will be appreciated by their classmates.
If you’re not sure if your child is too young to start enjoying games, consider these games as great starters: dominoes, snakes and ladders, trouble and candy land. These are some classics with very little skill involved, however it will get them practicing their one to one correspondence (grade 1 math teachers everywhere will thank you for this) and very simple rules to follow. There are a lot of terrific card games equally as simple and fun: steal the pack, war and crazy 8s to name a few.
As your child gets older you can choose games that are more geared towards their interest. The classics however are classics for just that reason, they’ve been around a long time and are tried, tested and proven.
Until next week – get playing.
