How Childhood Board Games Equip Us for Life's Challenges
If you were born before the iPad kid generation, chances are you spent your childhood enjoying outdoor scooter rides, Wii gaming sessions, or (if you were like me) playing various board games to cure your boredom. Though these games may seem like a simple pastime, they teach us important skills that stick with us for life. Whether it's mastering strategy, negotiation, or improving social and cognitive abilities, the board games we play as kids lay the groundwork for a wide range of useful talents and skills beyond the game.
According to the Manhattan Psychology Group, "There are many benefits of board gaming for children such as enhancing social skills, boosting their self-esteem, developing fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination, teaching number, shape, color and word recognition, and encouraging flexible thinking." Board games have the potential to teach teamwork skills to children, emphasizing the importance of actively listening to others' ideas and viewpoints. It can also instill in children the ability to handle defeat healthily. These are essential qualities that prepare us for navigating the challenges of adulthood.
To better understand the impact of these games, here is a list of popular board games along with the lessons and skills they taught us as children, which we continue to carry into adulthood:
Monopoly: This classic game teaches financial literacy, negotiation, and basic economic principles. Players learn about budgeting, investing, and the importance of strategic decision-making in managing resources.
Scrabble: Scrabble is an excellent tool for improving vocabulary, spelling, and language skills. It encourages players to think creatively, expand their word knowledge, and develop effective communication skills.
Chess: Chess is widely known for its capacity to improve critical thinking, strategic planning, and problem-solving abilities. It teaches people to predict their opponent's actions and plan several moves in advance. This creates mental flexibility and foresight.
Clue: Clue is a mystery-solving game that enhances deductive reasoning, logic, and problem-solving abilities. Success in the game often depends on paying close attention to details and noticing subtle clues. Clue encourages children to be observant and attentive to their surroundings.
Operation: This board game improves hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills, and concentration. The game also plays a huge role in teaching the importance of patience. It teaches kids the value of persistence and not giving up easily in the face of challenges.
Candy Land: Candy Land is a simple game that teaches colors, counting, turn-taking, and basic game rules. It helps us develop social skills and also teaches us how to follow instructions.
The Game of Life: The Game of Life simulates real-life experiences and teaches decision-making, goal-setting, financial planning, and risk assessment. This game also teaches us that life is simply unpredictable. The game throws unexpected challenges at us, similar to what happens in real life. We learn the importance of adaptability as life is full of surprises.
Uno: Although Uno is technically a card game, I thought I would include it in the list as it was one of my favorite games to play as a child. Uno teaches us color recognition, matching, strategy, and turn-taking. The game also teaches us to be aware of our surroundings, as it's crucial not to let our opponents call "Uno" before us.
Board games aren't just for fun; they're tools for learning that stay with us as we grow older. They help us think critically, plan ahead, interact with others, and deal with tough emotions. The skills we gain from playing board games are essential for facing life's challenges with confidence and strength, making them an important part of our journey to adulthood.
Strike Out,
Anjali Kamath
Boca Raton
Anjali Kamath is a Content Writer for Strike Magazine Boca. When she’s not belting her heart out on karaoke she’s either at the yoga studio or spending all her money. She’s a textbook Aries and a Diet Coke enthusiast. You can reach her at anjalikamath460@gmail.com
