How to play board games with the smallest ones?

Modern parents know that quality time spent with their children is the most precious and best thing a parent can give to their children. Not the amount of new things, toys and attractions, but the involvement of adults in children's lives, mutual communication and listening. Not to give someone else to deal with your child, but to be together yourself. (I'm talking more about the early years of the child - up to school age.) There is a time for much-needed free play, where parents are practically not involved and let the child's imagination run wild, and there is a time when children need direct time with their parents.

A board game is an excellent tool for this pastime: it requires mutual communication and cooperation. It not only brings the players closer emotionally, it also develops such important communication skills, teaches compliance with the rules, patience, not to mention the development of motor skills and cognitive abilities for the little ones. Ideally, the game has a balance of both luck and strategy. This means that you will need to engage both your active thinking and rely on luck, which will make the game more accessible to a diverse audience. This gives a chance to win both for beginners who have not yet honed their strategic skills in this game, and will make the game interesting for the next times you play it precisely because of the different strategies applied.

It's almost never too early to start playing board games. If your child doesn't yet understand the rules, you can find him an activity in the game that he will definitely be able to do according to his abilities (provided that you are not only playing children's board games). At first, maybe throw a dice, do some manipulations with the dice, etc. Give the opportunity to participate and be patient - with time, the child's involvement will become more and more purposeful and conscious. Be sure to also offer age-appropriate games where he can already be the decider of the situation. This happens surprisingly early on, when he's already starting to win you over. This is especially true for games aimed at training speed and attention (Halli Galli, Halli Cups, Oppo, various memory games). Sometimes there is a game that the child is already interested in (he has noticed that, for example, older children are playing or it is on the game shelf), which is still too complicated for him. Do not refuse to try it. The rules can be changed or simplified to suit the younger player. In my experience, the game is too long for a child to go through all the moves, or there are too many different actions that can be done. Then I simply shorten it all and remove some action. It doesn't break the game, but it doesn't get boring or too long for the smaller player. The essence of the game remains. Remember that when playing board games with your children, the main thing is not winning - neither for you nor for the child. It is a shared experience and adventure. To promote this sense of community, you can even start with cooperative games, where we can all be winners or lose together to the game itself. Solve a puzzle together, a task given by the game (for example, Outfoxed, Drago Tuku).

Children tend to get stuck on the same games (as well as books, cartoons, etc.). Let him play - it makes him feel safe and confident, but also take responsibility for teaching him something new. And again - with patience and interest - together. Don't buy games just because of the 'brand' - because there are some popular 'cartoon' characters or you've seen them on TV commercials. Find out what exactly needs to be done in a given game. Could it be really interesting and age appropriate? You also know your child best - whether he likes to act faster or more carefully. Do you like to build something, draw or make up "stories". If you are not a big game enthusiast yourself - consult with other more experienced playing parents, look for descriptions and reviews on the Internet, after all, board game sellers usually know what they are selling (I am not talking about supermarkets and online stores), and will certainly not skimp on experience and recommendations.

I never liked Circus or Monopoly myself. In themselves, these games are not bad, but even 30, 20 years ago, they were almost the only board games that children knew in our country. And they were deadly bored, besides, they were often inappropriate for their age and abilities. And who wants to continue the game if it is already known in the first 5 minutes that someone else will win... Of course, many will mention chess, checkers, cards. Yes, these are definitely board game classics and your child will definitely grow up to them if you encourage them, however, the world of today's board games has grown a lot and the offer is really huge - including very valuable and very age-appropriate games. It is interesting for parents themselves to get involved in many children's board games, and it is very important to do it with pleasure, not out of obligation. Children feel and see very well where parents pretend and pretend. It is most likely that the child will like the game in which, playing together with the parents, everyone will experience real, positive emotions. Make this time together enjoyable for all. Be united in the choice of games, and perhaps it will become your family's favorite joint hobby. What unites people more than a common hobby?!

The author of the article is Silvija Krasta.