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A Roll of the Dice

Is Your Child Ready for Board Games?

By Donna Smith

Around the age of 3, some children may be ready to move on to simple board games. A few games to consider include My First Brain Quest: Animal Matching from University Games; Barnyard Bingo by Fisher Price; Goodnight Moon Game by Briarpatch; Oreo Matchin' Middles Game by Fisher Price and Memory Game by Hasbro.

Majeski found that while her son loved the games that lit up, blinked and required lots of batteries, simpler games made for better one-on-one learning time. "The lights and loud sounds of some of the games tended to get him too excited, so we never really got to actually play the game," she says. "When we played games like the Memory Game or other similar games, he really seemed to want to learn how to play, and we both got more out of the time spent."

As your child grows, encourage his interest in board games. Games such as Candy Land can teach and reinforce valuable skills. While moving the pieces around the board, your child will learn basic math, color and number recognition, as well as social skills. Plus, it's a great way to spend quality family time together. Try to schedule a family game night at least once a week!

And now the question that many parents disagree on: Should you let your child win? "No," Green says. "It's not realistic. As in life, sometimes you win and sometimes you lose. Creating an environment in which the child is always the winner is artificial; it does a disservice to the child. Besides, kids are smart enough to know when the parent is letting them win."

Board Game Readiness Ask yourself the following questions to see if your child is ready for board games: Can he wait his turn? Can he follow simple rules? Can he verbalize enough to communicate to other players? Can he sit for more than 15 minutes doing one activity?