With the super cold temps keeping us indoors more than usual, it's easy to get a little stir crazy. Why not pass the time with family game nights? Set aside one night or time every night -- to play together.
You may be thinking, "I don't have any extra time in my schedule. Here are some ways to squeeze half an hour of fun into the day:
- Don't do everything yourself. Do a five or ten minute pick-up where everyone cleans as much as they can, then let the rest wait. When your kids are grown, which will they remember and appreciate more: a clean house, or fun times?
- Play while dinner cooks. Most casseroles bake half an hour.
- Play in between loads of laundry.
- Turn off the television and video games.
Besides the camraderie, playing games has important developmental benefits.
- Kids who play games with supportive adults play better with their peers.
- Many games encourage cognitive, language, and/or fine-motor skills. They also help teach important social and problem-solving skills: taking tuns, compromising, strategizing, and dealing with disappointment.
- Game-playing is a great way to help siblings learn to get along better. Big sibs can help younger sibs. Younger sibs enjoy a shift in power when games of chance let them win over big sibs. Both can witness the fact that it's sometimes hard for game players of all ages to lose, and see how other people handle disappointment (effectively or not so much, as the case may be).
I once babysat for a family who insisted I let the kids win every time we played games in order for the kid to develop healthy self-esteem. Bad idea! Kids are smart. They know when they're being soft-soaped. Instead of building self-esteem, letting kids win destroys it because it sends the message that kids can't win on their own. A better plan is to play with kids as though you were their age. Which is to say, don't play no-holds barred Monopoly with a five-year old. Allow yourself to be distracted or single-minded, in the way that kids are. Talk about the way you play to help your child develop strategies, and offer to coach if they want it. Then again, back off if they don't.
You can play lots of luck-based games with a deck of cards: crazy-eights, spit, go fish, old maid, war, etc. Start out with cards face-up until they get the hang of it.
Some other games grouped by age:
2-3: Memory, 25-50 piece jigsaw puzzles, who stole the cookie from the cookie jar
3-4: Connect Four, pick-up sticks, checkers, Boggle Junior, Guess Who, dominos
4-6: Monopoly Junior, Clue, Yahtzee Junior, Othello, Pictionary
6-10: Chess, Yahtzee, Boggle, Battleship, Trouble, Scrabble
(These age ranges aren't absolute, but based on the manageable frustration level for average kids. Older kids can play any of the younger games.)
If your favorite game is missing critical parts, many manufacturers make it easy to order replacements: Hasbro, Milton Bradley & Parker Brothers. For older games, try secondhand stores or ebay.
--H.V.
