Have you ever wondered why is it important for children to play? Here are just a few reasons we should encourage kids to play:
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- playing helps children expand their understanding of themselves and others, their understanding of the physical world, and their ability to communicate with others
- recreation creates the basis for a great foundation in all areas of life
- play teaches the basics that every person needs to know for the real world, things such as:
- You don’t always win
- Good Sportsmanship
- Take turns
- Colors
- Reading
- Strategy
- Math awareness
- Cooperation
- Memorization
- Creativity
- Self Confidence
- and many more!
Why Is It Important For Children To Play
Some of these basics are hard to just teach a child. How do you teach a child to have self confidence? Or teach that they won’t always win? Playing games such as board games or card games can help with these essential basics. It can help show them that learning can be fun (and they won’t even realize that they are learning.)
Incorporating play into everyday of life will not only help the child, but the family unit. Did you know that the ‘average’ family family spends less than 30 minutes a week in face-to-face personal interaction away from the TV or computer. And on average the American parent spends less than 15 minutes a day in actual with their teen?
Take the Challenge: Just 30 minutes 3X a week can do wonders for your family. Play a game with your children (including your teenagers) it will give you the opportunity to get to know your child better and keep you ‘in’ on their lives.
You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation. – Plato
My Favorite Quote on Play: We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing. – George Shaw
Here are just a few game ideas for the whole family:
The Crazy Mixed Up Zoo Game – A Crazy Game of Memory by Crazy Mixed Up ZooWalk the Dogs Board GameMelissa & Doug Suspend Family Game (31 pcs)