For children 6 years old, games are the main form of leisure, and not always computer games: even the classic tabletop varieties will still work. Most often, such gifts are chosen by parents in order to diversify children's leisure time. At the same time, many completely forget that board games not only improve mood - they are also useful as an excellent brain training. If you want to give something to a child 6 years old, then the board game will definitely be one of the best options. The only question is which of the most popular games to choose.
Benefit
If you are still in doubt about the real benefits of board games for children (other than raising spirits and improving mood), then here are some examples of how an ordinary board game can positively affect a child:
- Adults who think that children are just having fun while playing are deeply mistaken. Absolutely any game is a simulation of this or that situation, at least - develops the imagination. After all, everyone noticed that children never play with themselves. Most often they find themselves in the place of certain adults, less often - in the place of fairy-tale and other fictional characters. However, always - in a situation in which they really do not exist.
In other words, such a child's play replaces the typical adult conversation when one asks the other what he would do in a given situation.
It turns out that any game is of great importance - in many ways it is modeling the future, a kind of preparation for adulthood.
This also applies to board games. They either give the child certain new knowledge that he may never have been interested in obtaining, or they force him to develop logic, strategic thinking, ingenuity - and even dexterity with a quick reaction.
Of course, at this age, too complex games that would give real adult skills are not worth buying - their time will come later, in a few years. To prepare your baby for such games, close to the real life of adults, first buy him a simpler nursery.
- The harm from the constant use of computers and other electronic devices is already obvious, but everyone has reached the stage of human development when it is almost impossible to completely abandon them. If at preschool age parents could argue the strict limitation of the use of gadgets by the fact that the child there only played games, then at 6-7 years old he goes to school.
Modern educational programs have already managed to appreciate all the advantages of digital technologies and have long adopted them, so that a student simply cannot do without a computer. In addition, the kid will not spend all day at school, and the parents probably work, so now he has much more opportunities to play freely or surf the Internet.
If fifteen years ago the main danger from computers was considered to be a negative effect on the eyes, today the main problem lies in the psychological plane, since a person who once went into the virtual world almost never returns from it.
The problem cannot be solved by the method of strict prohibitions, because round-the-clock control over the child is impossible, and the forbidden fruit, due to its inaccessibility, seems even sweeter.
It remains only to interest the child in something in the real world so that he himself is ready to turn off the computer of his own free will and go to do something else. Board games remain one of the few alternatives that are really interesting for children that can pull them away from monitors.
- Another side effect of a developed information society is that people (by all accounts) have become less likely to communicate with each other. However, they communicate, but instead of live communication, it now happens in the virtual world, which is interesting in its own way, but still a classic conversation is much better. If even those who were born much earlier than the digital era began to communicate less, then imagine how drawn into it those children who did not know any other time.
Almost any board game requires the participation of at least two players, it already (one way or another) helps to establish contact between them. Everyone knows that a real friend is much better than a "pen pal", and it is through board games that you can acquire new acquaintances and loyal companions.
Such a pastime with the family can yield positive results in establishing a family atmosphere. As you know, only those who do not communicate with each other will never understand each other, and a board game is an excellent reason to spend time together.
Varieties
The best board games for children are those that not only provide a certain developmental effect, but also correspond to the child's tastes and hobbies. There are quite a few different varieties of games, even for children of 6 years old, which allows you to choose something interesting for each kid. Here are a few common types of board games:
- Brain teaser. They may seem rather boring by name, but many logic games for toddlers are really interesting and addicting. The effect is achieved due to the colorful design and cleverly twisted plot. In some games, you need to look for treasures or catch a criminal, in others, other players act as clear opponents.
- Developing memory. Usually games of this type are built on the fact that each next player repeats the words spoken by the previous one and adds his own, making the task more and more difficult with each move. The options can be very different - up to meaningless sounds imitating the conversation of cavemen, which looks as ridiculous as it is funny. In more complex versions, players not only repeat the sounds they hear, but also have to be distracted by various additional questions, which only complicates memorization.
- Games to expand your vocabulary. At the age of 6, the child is already fluent and able to express any of his thoughts, but this is too little to be considered a full-fledged native speaker. There are games that allow you to learn as many new words as possible in a fun way, and at the same time - the concepts that they mean. This usually looks like an assignment to come up with a word for a specific letter or topic, so that the child can learn a lot just by listening to other participants.
Even typical "Walkers", where the player moves his piece along the play route from start to finish by rolling a die. They help develop mental arithmetic. True, at the age of 6, children usually already think quite well, so now it is more likely just entertainment.
The division into options for boys and girls can serve as a kind of classification of board games. There are many more boys' games, as boys traditionally have a more pronounced inclination and talent for competitive hobbies than girls. Take, for example, the themes of war, pirates or spies - all this is much closer to boys, this can be implemented in the form of a tabletop strategy.
As for girls, there are much fewer special games for them, and they are devoted only to some adventures of princesses. However, you should not worry about this, since the vast majority of games are designed for both sexes. They are well suited both for a large children's company and for playing with the family.
Most played games
The concept of the most popular game is rather arbitrary, since no one can say with certainty how many copies and which game were sold, and even more so in the context of a purchase for children of 6 years old. It should also be borne in mind that every child of this age is already a bright individual, he may have tastes that are radically different from the preferences of the majority. Just in case, it is still worth highlighting a few games that are very popular, so they have a higher chance of being liked by your child:
- "Crocodile". This game can safely be called a classic - you, perhaps even your parents, probably played it, just not in the desktop version, but in your imagination. The point then was that from the circle of children one was chosen to show or explain, to whom someone else thought of a word or concept, and everyone else had to guess it.
The rules differed from company to company - somewhere it was possible to speak without naming the word itself and the same root words, somewhere the explainer answered only leading questions of the guessing ones (with the words "yes" or "no"). In the third version, it was impossible to speak at all - I had to show with facial expressions and gestures. As a rule, the guesser became the showing one and received the task for himself.
Today this game has already become a board game, and the rules there also differ, but the essence is approximately the same. The tasks in such a game are no longer invented by the players: they are indicated on the cards, which, according to some rules, are drawn blindly, according to others - according to a certain pattern. There are even versions of a competitive nature, involving division into teams, where each team must guess as many words as possible in a minimum time.
- "My Zoo". We can say that this game is the same "Monopoly", but the surroundings here are much closer to what kids might like. Throwing a dice, you need to walk around the playing field and buy animals. However, you need to not only buy them, but also remember to feed them, so in a sense the game is even a little more complicated than the classic "Monopoly".
Of course, it is permissible to sell and buy animals not only on the basis of what fell on the playing field, but also from each other; the same goes for the feed. If you do not pay attention to the animals, you can lose them, and in the end the winner will be the one who can collect the most interesting set of animals in his zoo.
- Adults versus children. Family-style quizzes have one big drawback - it's no surprise that adults in general know a lot more than their children. The creators of this game did their best to neutralize this difference - for this, some of the questions were selected in such a way that it is much easier for a child to know the answer than for an adult. In addition, answering a question if you do not know what to answer is not at all necessary, but you need to type a series of seven correct answers in a row as soon as possible.
Whoever takes a risk and makes a mistake will lose everything accumulated, up to the incombustible amount - two or five correct answers. It all depends on how much the player has managed to collect by this moment.
For this reason, this game not only broadens the horizons and allows children and adults to get to know each other better, but also has an element of risk and strategic planning. In addition, this is almost the only quiz-type game where even kids of 6 years old can confidently compete with adults.
Tips for choosing
A wide range of board games is good because you can give a kid a dozen of them without ever repeating, invariably delighting the child. However, for this you need to have excellent taste and clearly understand what exactly can please the future owner. In order not to be mistaken with your choice, follow a few simple tips:
- No matter how hard you strive to develop certain skills of the baby, be guided when choosing not for the benefit, but for the fun. It is adults who evaluate board games for children by what they are able to give in practical terms, and children are absolutely indifferent to whether they develop logic and the ability to count during the game. In their understanding, they are just having fun.
- The kid will be much more interested in the game if it somehow resonates with a plot from a fairy tale, film or cartoon that is close to him. Even if we talk about elementary games like "roaming", which are all exactly the same, then the kid will be more willing to help his beloved hero find the treasure or free the princess, rather than play for some abstract, completely unknown character.
- In any case, the genre direction of the game should be close to the future owner. Anyone who loves active games and a competitive spirit will certainly prefer a game where you need to act actively, show a reaction, achieve victory over the enemy at the end thanks not only to luck, but also to your own qualities. If the child is touchy or has no particular chance of winning, it is better to pay attention to those games that do not provide for winners and losers.
- Be careful - although most games are suitable for both boys and girls, there are some that are interesting only for one gender. When choosing such a gift, you need to take into account not only the gender of the future owner of the game, but also the gender of his social circle. If this game is not suitable for someone from the company, then the child will either abandon the game or show himself from the worst side, ignoring his friend.
- Pay attention to your age too. Too simple games for a child of 6 do not yet exist, but too complex options will quickly disappoint - no one likes to constantly lose.
At the same time, do not rely solely on the age recommendations on the box, because each child develops individually and can either be ahead of his age or lag behind him.
Reviews
The vast majority of reviews about board games for children 6 years old are positive. It is noted that the creators were able to captivate children so much that they are able to sit for hours in the company over their favorite game, and the desktop versions manage to quite successfully compete with the computer ones.
In the process, the child's mood and communication skills improve, logic, fantasy, spatial thinking develop, and vocabulary increases. At the same time, board games are completely harmless, which compares favorably with modern options.
Negative reviews make up a relatively small percentage of the total and only concern unsuccessfully made copies. In order not to be disappointed and not to disappoint the child, take the choice of the most suitable presentation as seriously as possible.
For an overview of the best board games, see the next video.
