Playing board games gets everyone in the same room and helps family members across generations connect, compete, and have a great time together. Board games are easy, inexpensive, and have benefits well beyond the activity itself. Games are an entertaining and painless way to help kids build essential learning skills on the sly or by accidental learning, which means theres no anxiety or resistance.
The book Family Treasures: Creating Strong Families by John DeFrain covers six qualities that strong, successful families around the world exhibit: enjoyable time together; appreciation and affection for one another; positive communication; spiritual wellbeing (values, beliefs, life skills); successful management of stress and crisis; and commitment to each other.
If we dont carve out time as a family, none of those traits will be achieved. Board games foster that face-to-face interaction needed to connect deeply with each other and to develop the other traits of strong families.
Social and emotional health
Research shows the link between social and emotional skills and school success is so strong that it is a greater predictor of a childs academic performance than their family background and cognitive abilities. Learning is a social process. Children cannot learn if they struggle with following directions, getting along with their peers and controlling their emotions.
Every face-to-face game provides a social experiment where players learn self-regulation and skills to play successfully with others. A lot goes on under the surface, even when playing the simplest of games. Children identify and regulate their emotions and behavior, learn to calm down when upset, without hurting others; and learn how to win (or lose) with grace and good manners.
Playing games fosters persistence, a willingness to try new things, conversation, cooperative play and managing conflict. Games also help children learn to interpret others behavior and emotions, and can reinforce a childs self-esteem and sensitivity to others.
Basic math concepts
Even some of the simplest board games give children a sense of numbers. For example, the numeral 4 represents four objects, which is greater than 3 and less than 5. Some games introduce geometry concepts with shapes and patterns, how to classify items (pattern recognition and matching), and support learning about measurement, including distances and amounts.
Logical thinking, or the ability to reflect on the task demanded and independently using the appropriate reading, writing, math or learning strategy, are some of the underlying skills children develop through playing board games.
Problem solving and critical thinking can be strengthened with practice and learning. Kids might make even more improvement if we encourage them to explain their tactics or the tactics they see others use.
Games also encourage learning about color, letter recognition, communication and dexterity.
Not just for kids
We dont stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.
George Bernard Shaw
