Tip—Playing games is an excellent way to develop attention span.

Our culture’s over-emphasis on organized activities for children (sports, dance, music, etc.) has led to a decline in children’s free time and in general family time. Add to this our national attachment to various screens and you have a recipe for producing a kid who is unfamiliar with games. This would be a huge loss for your child. For the benefits she or he receives from playing games, alone, with you, and eventually with friends, are myriad.

The most important thing a game should provide, whether it is an active/physical one or a board game, is FUN. That is the secret ingredient; if it is fun, a child will want to play it again and again. The folks at I Can Do That! Games say, “Beyond fun, games have a world to offer: they can teach how to be cooperative, strategic, competitive, confident, bold, risky, respectful, and a thousand other critical life lessons.”

At Parenting Press, we have long known the happy connection between a fun game and learning. On our site you will see various titles that make use of games, among them: Taking “No” for an Answer (a book of active family games to teach people skills), Feeling Elf Cards (a card deck of fun ways to learn about emotions), and Self-Calming Cards (a card deck with game suggestions for young children). What better way to learn social skills and emotional literacy than by playing fun games? It doesn’t feel like teaching; it’s simply a fun activity.

Tools—There are many, many skills a child can develop while playing games. Here are a few of some common benefits:

• Develop attention span. Games require us to pay attention and sustain it throughout the play. Children are motivated to work at this because they are having fun. You can help them by choosing games appropriate for their developmental level.

• Follow directions. The earliest sorts of games give children practice at following directions. For example, a childhood classic like Candyland only asks kids to do as the card tells them. The casual musical song and game Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes is also an example of simply following directions.

• Make decisions. As children grow in skill and ability, games are an excellent way to give them practice in making decisions. Games require us to make decisions on what card to choose (as in Memory), what move to make next (as in Checkers), or just what direction the play will take (for example, being the leader in a game of Simon Says).

Next week we will look at some of the many social benefits children can reap from playing games.

You’ll find more practical tips you can use right now in Taking “No” for an Answer and Other Skills Children Need by Laurie Simons, M.A., Feeling Elf Cards & Games by Elizabeth Crary, M.S., and Self-Calming Cards by Elizabeth Crary, M.S.

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