Family Game Night: No Adults Necessary

Once the family night ritual is encouraged at home, your child might want to repeat the fun frequently. While this is a positive sign, as a parent, you might not have the space every day to devote your time for long family game nights. Needless to say, having limited time in a fast-paced world with multiple things to manage, it is completely natural to need some low key nights in your schedule or time to tackle your ever present to-do list.

There is nothing to feel guilty about on days when you encourage your child to play with their siblings, peers, or even just by themselves. This is a good opportunity for children to learn to become resourceful and develop stronger bonds with their peers or siblings. They can learn to move out of their usual comfort space and establish new connections with others

The following are some important benefits of peer-to-peer play:

It is essential to have all types of play. Playing with peers is important for children as these relationships are unique. They are voluntary and equal. Such relationships should be encouraged as they have their own space that requires compromise and renegotiation.

Children learn to regulate their emotions and develop social skills and form a sense of identity as they build relationships with their peers. Creating such bonds at an early age can help children welcome new changes in their early years, such as ease in breaking away from parents and going to school.

These relationships help them to develop the necessary social skills to overcome their fear and anxiety of new environments and people  

The Covid lockdowns not only limited external interaction for children but there were fewer to no opportunities to build new relationships or learn to function in new environments. Children may have been exposed to more screen time while families navigated the Pandemic and parents worked from home. While technology is going to be an essential part of this generation’s life, it’s critical to encourage outdoor time, and face-to-face interactions when possible. Game night with friends or siblings can help boost the social emotional skills that have taken a backseat during the Pandemic.

Skillsmatic’s collection of games can be played without an adult’s involvement. There are light-play games for children of every age. For your youngest gamers you could choose games like the First 100 Animals for your little ones to guess the name of the animal. You could separate a stack of animal cards familiar to them so that they can play using that particular stack without your involvement. These flashcards are excellent tools for play and homeschooling. They help children in identifying and recognizing animals, get familiar with their characteristics and habitats, and observe and compare similarities and differences between animals.

For children who are a little older Guess in 10 Junior Animal Kingdom is a fun and educational way of developing social and communication skills. This card game is ideal for children from the ages of three to six and helps in teaching problem-solving, creative and critical thinking, and decision-making skills. This game includes a set of 35 game cards and ten guider tiles. The guider tiles introduce a structure to this game and help children navigate through the guessing game.

Another game that is ideal for children above the age of six is Sinking Stones. This strategy board game helps children develop creative thinking, problem-solving, and decision-making.

While family game nights and peer play are encouraged for children, it is also understandable that there can be situations where both the scenarios might not take shape. In situations like these, games and activities that encourage independent play should be introduced. This is a healthy way for children to explore and focus.  

The First 100 Animals flashcard game is also dynamic for a solo player! Kids can arrange, sort, and group the cards based on animal habitats, eating habits, or any such other characteristics. Kids can also use the flashcards, for example, from their favorite fandom game like the Guess in 10 Marvel   to create art inspired by their favorite characters like sketches or paintings.