Life is a game of chance and skill. In order to teach our children these invaluable lessons, we must first learn them ourselves.
I have often heard that the best way to learn is to teach, so, when we purchase a new game, we all sit down together, read the rules aloud, and begin play. When one player understands a rule the others don't they get to teach the rest of us how to integrate it into the game. Not that we always agree, but for the first round, we play along.

The confidence my younger children achieve while teaching us their understanding of the rules is priceless to their self esteem. While the older children verse us on their conclusions of the rules, the younger ones listen as attentively as when they were speaking. So is it really the true rules that children learn by, or how they are taught how to interact with others while learning new things.

Now this being said, there are many games that teach children of all ages how to do well in school. Starting with Memory. I always lose, not out of choice, just that children are tuned into what was where. I have found teenagers to take this game far more seriously than necessary, especially when their 5 year old sibling is beating them.

Yahtzee! Now there is a game for all. It teaches simple math to youngsters, and poker to everyone else! The skill needed in deciding where to place those 3 or 4 of a kind helps with reasoning abilities both children and teens will use for life.

Scrabble and scrabble jr. are wonderful for all ages. While teaching a child to spell, they learn to use the dictionary, expand their vocabulary, and use reasoning as to where best to place their word.

Most games have lessons to learn for all ages. But the time you spend with your child will teach them the greatest lesson of all, that they are worth your time.

Learn more about this author, Sharon Smith.
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