Board games of a lifetime, such as goose or ludo, are classics that never go out of style and that help children develop skills in areas such as logical-mathematical, linguistic or social. But adult supervision is key so that the rules are clear and conflicts do not occur. What is a board game? Silvia Arcas, a psychologist specializing in children and adolescents, defines it as an activity that brings together a group of people with a common strategy and specific rules, which promote a very high-quality cognitive and socio-affective interaction. This psychologist also highlights the benefits for minors of this type of recreational activities: “They stimulate attention, memory, logical reasoning, the association of ideas, the establishment of hypotheses, the capacity for analysis, spatio-temporal processing, the comprehension and linguistic expression.
Board games are tools that also help children develop their social skills and manage their emotions. “They offer the opportunity to establish agreements on the rules to be respected, learn to cooperate based on a common objective, develop skills to compete healthy and manage conflicts”, continues Arcas. And he adds: “They also allow you to train frustration management, such as when you lose, and channel difficult-to-manage emotions, such as anger.”
More information
This expert vindicates classic board games against those that are based on new technologies and recommends several options that allow you to work on different aspects:
Chess, checkers, ludo and the goose. They are board options that stimulate logical-mathematical reasoning, attention and memory. Playful activities to form words and sentences, such as Scrabble, train verbal and linguistic processing. Board activities to solve mysteries, such as Cluedo , promote hypothetical-deductive thinking and the cognitive processes of analysis and synthesis. Card games, such as the French or Spanish deck, help to learn calculation and planning skills and to develop quick reflexes. Leisure with the dice helps to train numerical and combinatorics concepts with children. Games that simulate certain environments, such as the buying and selling business, for example Monopoly, help to learn concepts about money management. Playful activities that develop artistic expression , creativity and imagination are also available in some games, such as Pictionary. Custom adaptations of classic games are also an option, such as creating a goose board on the ground and having the participants be the tokens or inventing new games.
“Traditional recreational activities that are not table games, such as hide-and-seek, tag or hopscotch, complete the aspect that board entertainment does not cover, such as physical movement skills,” adds Arcas.
board games by age
Age is an important fact to take into account when choosing activities so that children can enjoy them without getting frustrated or bored. “From five to seven years old they still do not understand the complex rules of the game, so it is convenient to opt for the simplest ones, such as ludo, the goose, Crazy Monkeys, Memory or Operation”, recommends Montserrat Díaz. The neuropsychologist at the San Lorenzo Integral Center recommends several games for older children who can already handle more elaborate rules dynamics: “For example, from 7 to 12 years old: Palabrea, Dobble, Animalea, Uno, Jenga, Scattergories or Cortex , and from that age onwards: Trivial, Pictionary, chess or Cluedo”.
It may be the case that minors get bored playing. The way to avoid this is not to associate it with an obligation, says Díaz. “They are attractive to children if they are presented as an exploration of the new,” he continues, “the mistake is to approach these activities as a punishment to avoid electronic devices.” “Introducing the element of family participation to help children with the dynamics of the rules and enjoying it with them is key for minors to be motivated with this type of leisure”, continues this expert.
The issue of cheating can ruin a good family leisure time. “You have to teach respect for fair play and that they know how this influences the rest of the players and the dynamics of the activity itself. To do this, it is convenient to establish clear rules and ensure that the participants respect each other”, advises the psychologist Montserrat Díaz.
You can follow Mamas & Papas on Facebook, Twitter or sign up here to receive our biweekly newsletter.
#children #learn #board #games #associate #obligation #avoid #screens
