The Things I Love Most

Tips To Enjoying Life With Your Family

Family Game Nights

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We love games.  Board games, funny games, any games really! (I sound like Dr. Seuss!)  I think this all started with my sister and her husband who got us addicted to these games…

We would play games with them on weekend nights after the kids went to bed.    Then we got into this game and couldn’t stop playing.  Even my 5 year old loved to watch us play this game

Carcassonne Big Box 3
My kids started getting older and wanted to learn how to play these games with us.  So about a year ago we decided that Sundays would be game days with our kids.  After dinner we would teach our kids to play a game and then play it for a while until they really understood it.  Most of these games are for ages 8+,some even older, but I have been surprised to see how quickly my 5 year old caught on.
Here are some more of our favorites.
Spin Master Games Stratego Board Game (Styles Vary)
Battleship
We just taught them this game last night and they loved it.
Winning Moves 1141 Rack-O

Here are some reasons that I think playing games as a family is important!

  1. Family togetherness time is the best!
  2. Yes sometimes it might end in crying or fighting…but if you teach your kids they might not always win they will learn to get over it.  I might take several times of playing the game to get them to learn that.
  3. Kids learn social skills from playing games.  They have to learn to be okay with losing and also learn to be good winners.  They also learn about cheating 🙂 and taking turns.
  4. It makes them smarter.  Most games are usually pretty educational.  Lots of these games teach number order, greater than and less than and reading.  My 3 year old loves to play Stratego with me on a daily basis!  It has helped him learned his numbers and what numbers are bigger and what numbers are smaller!
  5. They are fun and help me relax and enjoy time with my kids!

Go play a game with your kids tonight!  Don’t give up on games if there if fighting or crying.  They will soon get over it and learn to have a lot of fun as a family!
Have a wonderful day!

Comments

  2. My children love playing Settlers and Ticket to Ride. I think it is awesome that you have a game night. Your children will remember these moments forever.