Christmas is over and there remains a week of vacation before school starts. And the weather forecast is cold and wet! How to meaningfully use this precious time? Play board games (and card games) as a family!
Here are 10 reasons to cultivate a love of board games in your family:
- Board games can be educational. Many great board games have an educational component: geography, history, strategy, logic, math skills, and language arts.
- Board games require taking turns, and therefore are a great way to teach our children patience.
- There are winners and losers in board games, which translates to opportunities to teach “life isn’t fair!” We get to practice winning well and losing well. (We require our kids to say “congratulations” to the winner – and the winner has to say “thanks for playing” to the others! 🙂 )
- Board games often bring out “character training” opportunities. Many heart-issues (selfishness, meanness, rude words, cheating, etc.) can be revealed during a game that can be seen as training opportunities. (It requires me as a parent not to be lazy but to engage when these “opportunities” arise.)
- Board games often require a long attention span. Our children have grown into loving 2+ hour games. Often they will keep a game out for days and come back to it.
- Board games force you to create your own entertainment versus being entertained. You have to participate! Also, games usually require set up and clean up, which are good “working together” opportunities.
- Board games provide opportunities for conversation/interaction – everyone is sitting around a table together in close proximity instead of spread out around the house.
- Many games can span age differences – our 7 year old and 13 year old can play most of the same games. (When you grow up in a “game” family, you learn young how to play older games. Our oldest was playing Candy Land at 7 years old, and our youngest just learned Settlers of Catan at 7 years old. 🙂 ) Board games can also span the generations and provide a fabulous way to enjoy time with grandparents.
- Board games are transportable. We can bring a board game or a deck of cards with us wherever we go – camping, hotels, grandparents’ house, or dinner at a friend’s house.
- Board games promote quality family time… most of the time! 🙂 Mom & Dad get to sit down and play with the children – and laugh and talk and make memories together. When kids out-grow playing with toys or reading books aloud, board games provide a way for parents and older children to “play” together.
So put some music on, make a fire, pull the chairs up around the coffee table, and make some family memories playing games!
Some of our favorites:
- Ticket to Ride
- Risk
- Settlers of Catan
- Chess
- Apples to Apples
- Scotland Yard
- Mexican Train
- Triopoley
- Cards – Texas Hold’em
- Cards – Hearts/ Spades
- Monopoly
- Clue
Do you have other favorite family games?
l truth. We use John 8:12, John 1:5 and Isaiah 9:2 to talk about Jesus as the Light of the World.
t hangs on the wall in the kitchen, with a nightly reading of a the Christmas story that goes along with it. We also have a Jesse Tree on which we place an ornament every day that reminds us of a different aspect of God’s character.
This advent candle wreath on our coffee table gets brighter each day leading up to Christmas.
One thing we’ve discovered in parenting is that if we want something to become a part of our family routine, it needs to be visible. If it’s in the center of the kitchen table, hanging on the wall, or sitting on the coffee table the children will to hold us accountable to making it happen.
“wish lists” for themselves – we know what our kids like and can surprise them with something fun – but rather to make wish lists for what they will give! I love overhearing their conversations, “I might give 1 goat, 3 chickens and 4 soccer balls this year,” or “Maybe we can pool our money together a buy a fish pond.”