Life Skills & Gaming: How To Teach Your Kids Both

Did you know that many games that are on the shelves in the stores are designed to teach valuable life skills? For example, children can learn patience from Monopoly and Risk – playing the long game teaches them strategy! They can gain excellent dexterity and problem-solving from video games and they can learn so much about the language in which they speak when they do crossword puzzles and more.

As parents, we want to teach our children as much as possible. We look to buy here when it comes to finding the best puzzles for our children to do to pass the time and help them with their general knowledge. The key is in knowing how you can tie in a lesson about life skills into the games that they are playing. With that in mind, let’s look at some of the ways you can teach your children both.

Four People Playing Dominoes

Image Source: Pexels

  1. First, you need to choose the right game. If you want to teach your children about money management, pick games like Monopoly and Pay Day so that they can learn how they can “win” as much money and property as possible as they play. When you see them achieving the end goal of saving money, start a home tuck shop so that you can teach them how to manage the real thing! 
  2. Tie the games that you choose into your child’s interests. Children will be far more interested in playing games with you if they are interested in the subject involved. Games like Rollercoaster Tycoon, for example, taps into their interest in theme parks and offers them the chance to be creative.
  3. Most of the time, puzzles and jigsaws are the first games that children are given. They are taught to move from the outside in, building the puzzle as they see fit to replicate the picture on the outside. If you ensure that your child can see the image they are copying, they’ll be able to build a picture of their own life – puzzles teach them to dream!
  4. Problem-solving is a big deal in life, and the problems that your child solves while they are moving through a variety of board games and role-playing games will help them to think quickly and analytically in life, too. 
  5. Word games are perfect for helping your children to learn to spell, as well as helping them to learn how to speak correctly. Grammar is a big deal, and the spellings that your children will have to learn as they get older will ensure that they are ahead of the game at school.
  6. There are so many different types of games out there, but when you teach your children how to play board games like chess and draughts, you are able to teach them how to be skillful and competitive. This will offer them plenty of practice at how to solve problems and think fast and strategically in life, too. 
  7. Lastly, gaming offers your children the chance to have FUN. Games are for those of all ages, of course, but childhood is where the fun begins