Playing games with your child

With the weather turning cold and a little blustery, now is the perfect time to stay indoors and play games with your little one. Games are not only fun but can also boost children’s language and learning and help develop important skills.

Try playing a game of Memory or Snap. You can use playing cards or you might even like to make your own. Snap is a simple way of helping introduce children to the concept of things that are the same and things that are different. Talk to your child about the rules, look through the cards and point out similarities. You might like to highlight what is the same or what is different. To simplify things, you could just use the colours and the suite of cards to make it easier for your child. Games are a great opportunity for repetition of new words or concepts - “your turn”, “snap”, “I’m winning” and so on. If there are written rules or instructions share them with your child and go through them together to demonstrate how rules work.

If you haven’t got any games, you can always use everyday items. A washing basket and folded socks are ideal for a game of indoor sock basketball. Place the basket at a suitable distance from your child and then get them to throw the socks in it; move the basket as required. This game is great for hand eye coordination and helps develop bigger muscles. These skills will eventually help your child when they start to learn to read and write.

Playing games helps your child understand the concept of taking turns and following rules but more importantly games are fun and full of conversations. If you remember playing a favourite game as a child why not share it with your little one and create lasting memories.