The Benefits of Playing Games Together Here are five reasons to start a family game night:
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Entertainment without a Screen
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Learning Life Skills
Games for ages 10 and older: l Use your laser to eliminate the enemy king in Laser Chess. l Play as the seeker or as the hider in the flashlight tag game, Shadows in the Forest. l Travel along the path of life filled with work, family, taxes, unexpected surprises and more in Life. l Make the craziest and most hilarious comparisons to win Apples to Apples. l Use the alphabet tiles to make the most complex words with Scrabble. l Work together to keep the world safe from outbreaks and epidemics with the cooperative strategy game, Pandemic. l Race to be the first person to sing a song containing the special word to move forward in Spontuneous. l Impress the king by building landmarks in his domain and beating your opponents in Architects of the West Kingdom. l Find Harry, Ron, Hermione, Professor Dumbledore and more as you search through the moving maze of Harry Potter Labyrinth.
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Playing board or card games entertains without requiring a working electronic. “Screens are not by definition evil,” says Marie Hartwell-Walker, a psychologist, author and feature writer for PsychCentral. “What is a concern is how much time people spend on screens at the expense of connection with each other.”
Turn family game night into a teaching opportunity, as you can teach your kids life skills, including healthy competition, strategy, taking turns and more. “Regular family game night can establish healthy positive routines, and routines are good and helpful for young children’s development,” says Ted Futris, a professor in the College of Family & Consumer Sciences at the University of Georgia. “It may also help children learn boundaries, rules, social norms, turn-taking and how to interact with each other.”
Engaging as a Family Family game night can start a tradition of bonding and enjoying each other’s company. “This tradition is an opportunity for connection,” says Futris. “It gives parents the opportunity to listen to their children and hear what’s going on in their life, as there are lots of chances for parents to engage children, not just playing the game.”
Brain Boost Games can help all the members of the family sharpen their brains by engaging their strategic skills, language skills, memory and more. Games will also help younger children develop hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills.
Practicing Teamwork and Sportsmanship By working together, your kids will learn the value of teamwork, strategizing and communicating with each other with the common goal of winning. You can encourage this concept by picking strategy games, where the whole family works together, by pairing the older child with a younger sibling in a game, or by playing games competition-style parents vs. children. Family game nights give children another opportunity to watch how their parents behave. You can set an example and show them the appropriate way to act while winning or losing a game. “Parents are role modeling for their children the values they want their children to emulate and practice in their own lives,” Futris says.
How to Start a Game Night Start it by announcing it, suggests Hartwell-Walker. “If parents are enthusiastic, little kids will get right on board,” she adds. Help kids choose the games you’ll play. Try It Or indulge your own nostalgic by telling the Before You Buy It kids about a game from your childhood that Head to these restaurants you’d like to play with them, she suggests. or stores to test games: What if your oldest child thinks they’re HOBNOB Neighborhood too cool to play with their parents and baby Tavern, The Tap on Ponce, sibling? “Reinforce to your older children that Battle & Brew, Giga-Bites as a family, we’re going to do this together. Café, Rhen’s Nest Toy Shop, You can sit and play, or you can sit and Heroic Gaming, watch, as this is a time for us to be together,” Learning Express Futris says. He also suggests being wary of competitiveness. “As a parent, be mindful of that balance of making something too competitive, as children may lose interest. If it’s too competitive, it’s not fun,” he adds.
atlantaparent.com
February 2020 Atlanta Parent 19
