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games allow our children to develop their muscles while enjoying fresh air and exercising. They are excellent for coordination and flexibility and any team sport teaches our children about managing their relationships with others.

You also can't go past social games. These are the games that are played on social occasions like birthdays or other parties. Age old games such as Musical Chairs, Duck Duck Goose, and other Ice Breaker games, provide a common ground for all to interact. If you've ever played one of those games where you are in teams and have an orange under your chin that gets passed down the lines without the use of hands, you will know what I mean when I say that these games are fabulous for putting all out of their comfort zones but fabulous for creating a giggle.

Finally, there are computer related activities that help our children to enhance their skills. Sites that are educational and well moderated offer them the opportunity to explore a subject or skill from a different perspective. I have recommended some sites to my adult students to assist them to build their maths skills, as playing maths games is far more appealing than doing sets of sums.

However, I am not a fan of games where children spend hours in front of computer screens chasing goblins and dragons whilst killing everything in sight. I've witnessed first hand how the personality of my children can change when playing these types of games. The reason is that young children find it difficult to distinguish between fantasy and reality and sometimes act out what they see. How many times have I seen my son tumbling, rolling and stabbing the imaginary dragons? I just hope he doesn't ever accidentally do this to one of his sisters.

There are so many creative and positive activities and games to be found on the Internet. A particular favorite of my children are the sites where they can complete jigsaw puzzles, play matching and find the object games, coloring in pictures and design clothing or decorate rooms. These types of activities stimulate their creativity and problems solving skills, develops their coordination, recognition speed and sensory skills.

Whatever the game of your choice, you've got to love games for creating a sense of community! Games are vitally important in developing skills and a part of our social framework.

Learn more about this author, Hayley Solich.
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