Friday, August 8, 2008

Family Board Game Fun

A family that plays together, stays together. Family Board Games are a great way to spend time with your children and help them to learn valuable skills at the same time. And, best of all, playing board games with your children can be a whole lot of fun.

Traditional board games are educational, meaningful, and authentic hands-on activities. Parents can use Educational Board Games to motivate children to learn and practice academic skills and develop essential social and life skills such as: Math, Reading, History, Geography, Science, taking turns, sportsmanship, weighing choices, team work, patience and many other life skills.

Some of the more popular board games today that are appropriate for children 6+ include,Apples to Apples, Blokus, Blink, Rumis, Hey That's My Fish and Gobblet. Older children and teenagers will enjoy Talisman, Settlers of Catan, Ticket to Ride and Carcassonne. These games are just as enjoyable for adults, and they never play the same way twice.

Playing board games also provides some health benefits to you and your children. According to the New England Journal of Medicine, challenging your brain with mentally stimulating activities, (like playing board games), is great for your mind and can help reduce your risk of developing Alzheimer's and dementia. More quality family time, (like a family game night), often results in children with more self-esteem and better grades in school. Finally, according to RealNetworks, Inc., a casual games developer, playing board games is an excellent way to relax and relieve stress.

So, the next time that you're thinking about buying the kids a new video game, why not find your local game/hobby store and try out some Family board games instead. You'll be glad that you did.

By Marc Bowker

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