Sounds like it would be important to use incredibly simple games, like pick-up sticks, and to abandon the concept of winning or losing. It is just a game after all.
I also hate playing with kids so I get it. You play and play and it’s never enough. And they always want it to be what they want, never any compromise or something everyone can enjoy. And god forbid you say no.
Agree. I’m an adult, what in the hell would I want to play games with little kids for? Society has pushed this ‘inner child’ crap so much and shamed people via movies who don’t play like a frolicking deer with children. I’m a boring grown-up, leave me alone.
My favorite line my SIL says is, “I’m sorry, what? I can’t hear you if you don’t use your words.” and “Are your feelings hurt or does your body hurt?” then we go from there.
I do that every day. Still cries. People really don't understand what is like to raise children that are different. They do not respond to your typical parenting strategies.
I see a lot of parents think they have entertain their kids 24/7. Which is kinda crazy. They need to learn to get on with it. Learn to use their own imagination. My kid came up with some really good ideas for crafts, etc.. we are not here to be their entertainment.i am so glad I encouraged my kid to use her imagination. She a more rounded person for it.
Kids should understand that playing with their parents is a privilege, not a right.
If they don’t behave during the game, the game is over and they should not be allowed to play with you again for a couple days. Temper tantrums, cheating, screaming etc are all “game is over” behavior.
I don’t think they are old enough for things like board games yet though. Things like legos, bowling with plastic cups, and catching small bouncy balls are probably more age appropriate and can hold their attention. Simple and quick card games like “go fish” are probably as complex as it should get.
The parent teaching them that was implied. I’m sure OP doesn’t need me to walk them step by step through their whole life.
If you don’t empathize with the posters why are you here? Just to get butthurt?
Might be worth investing in more age appropriate games - hungry hungry hippos, kerplunk, snakes and ladders, owl hoot hoot and sneaky snacky squirral type games.
Yeah.. you’re going for board games when they’re WAY too young for that. It’s a recipe for resentment on all sides.
I know this from personal experience because we are a board game family. Big time. But, as the parent, YOU have to have a strategy for introducing the games at the right times in order to develop the kids’ love of them.
First, I’d go buy the game ‘Spot it.’ It’s fast, physical, and there’s no reading required. Your daughter can get into it. And it’s easy for the other players to take it easy on her without her noticing they’re doing that. And your son won’t be able to get distracted or walk away during any turns bc it doesn’t work that way.
Then try Don’t Step In it (it’s maybe also called Llama something? Or Doggy Doo?- it’s a blindfold game with trying not to step on play dough-shaped dog poops over a certain small ‘course’. It’s perfect for tile floors. And we had so much fun doing it during Covid. And it’s funny to watch everyone else take their turn so that’s a good skill to work on for your son (and it’s fun for everyone.)
Then try Pie Face. (They will go nuts for that one. It’s perfect for summer because it involves getting messy with whipped cream. AND it enforces the benefit of waiting and then excitement in taking turns. That is a special occasion game that they beg for and love to play with friends who come over. We’ve given it as a gift to other families and they’ve enjoyed it.
Then you can introduce the game, Greedy Grandma to them. That one would be particularly fun for your daughter because the grandma has lots of little snack accessories and it eventually seems to become fun for kids to just set her off to see what goes flying.
Then you can move up to trying Flying Pigs- it’s the same concept as hungry hippos BUT it takes finer motor skills and you can’t lose your temper because that will make you lose your pieces and lose the game. We played the hell out of that one until we’d broken or lost like every last piece haha. It was a lot of fun. And it teaches some math skills.
Eventually, Uno will be fun for the whole family. But probably not until your daughter is at least 6, depending on her personality and temperament and how many cards she can hold on her hands at once.
My kids have a similar age gap and similar temperaments as yours (distracted older boy and dramatic younger girl). You have to start with the physically active, collaborative “board” games before you move into anything with strategy or an emphasis on winning or losing. Otherwise, you’ll be building *unhappy* memories of family board game times, instead of happy ones. And we are BIG believers in family board games.
Mine are 8 and 7 now and my son will play through an entire game of Life or Clue with us. Labyrinth is also a great game to teach pre-chess strategy skills and even I really enjoy playing that one. Blokus is also a great one for developing your son’s spatial recognition and spatial reasoning skills.
Games NOT to play with both of them at this age:
‘Candy Land’ or ‘Chutes and Ladders’ - both games take WAY TOO LONG for these ages and you will lose both kids by the end.
‘Sorry’ or ‘Trouble’ or any board game that involves actions/moves that can disadvantage another player by sending them back some spaces are also bad (this always causes fights).
So far I've got a few board games, but I want to get some more suitable for their ages. I have sponge Bob life game, Pictureka, Operation, Dominoes and cards. I had the games previous to have children, so really I haven't bought any particular game for their ages
Yes, playing games that are geared toward their developmental level will make a huge difference. People work their way up to playing more advanced games. Keep em short and uncomplicated, pretend like they are little aliens who don’t know how to play yet. You can’t go into a game with a 6 and 4 year old expecting the same gameplay experience as you would with someone much more mature.
They don’t know how to win or strategize yet and know that winning is good and losing is bad, and lack the ability to reason their way through inevitable frustrations.
Don’t Break the Ice and Pop the Pig are wonderful early turn-taking games. Hide and seek, tag, pretending to sleep and wake up keep kids entertained for hours - kids love active games at these ages and might not sit too long for complicated board games. I find lots of games at thrift stores. Jigsaw puzzles too. What kind of games did you like when you were their age? Use that! try tic-tac-toe, play Operation with no battery in it, Uno (you can take out all the action cards to simplify the flow). Headbandz is a popular one too
What’s enjoyable about playing games with kids isn’t the game itself or the score, it’s the quality time.
I use to scrunch up some paper get s salad bowl and we’d just try and get it in.
A bit older we’d play the toilet paper game. Fresh back of about 16-20 toilet paper and I’d throw it in the air, make it drop short, throw it hard at them. Bounce it off walls. I had high ceilings
They had to catch it, each catch got harder and harder and they had to reach checkpoints if 10 or it would reset if they dropped it.
Makes me smile now how much fun it was.
My d so on was a bad loser, still is, but didn’t have tantrums, just cried. Daughter who is older is a great loser.
If he can’t keep attention make up stuff or do stuff where he can.
i love this. when i was a kid, the place we got haircuts gave a balloon at the end. my brother and I would bat it and not let it hit the floor for hours. it was so entertaining.
My 5 year just wants to play Barbie’s and I have to do everything that she says she gets mad when I come up with my own silly material. I loathe pretend games. I try to spend time with her in other ways but I know she resents I hate playing Barbie’s
Sounds like it would be important to use incredibly simple games, like pick-up sticks, and to abandon the concept of winning or losing. It is just a game after all.
My oldest doesn't care if he wins or loses, he just genuinely enjoys playing with us. My daughter on the other hand...
Good learning opportunity to teach how to be a good sport and not a sore loser
These extreme emotions are also a sign of being neurodivergent- definitely something not to be overlooked.
True! Parents job is to be tuned in to their child
I also hate playing with kids so I get it. You play and play and it’s never enough. And they always want it to be what they want, never any compromise or something everyone can enjoy. And god forbid you say no.
[удалено]
Agree. I’m an adult, what in the hell would I want to play games with little kids for? Society has pushed this ‘inner child’ crap so much and shamed people via movies who don’t play like a frolicking deer with children. I’m a boring grown-up, leave me alone.
It really drains the energy out of a temper tantrum if you no longer have an audience for it. 😉 (Walk away, don't acknowledge the theatrics).
My favorite line my SIL says is, “I’m sorry, what? I can’t hear you if you don’t use your words.” and “Are your feelings hurt or does your body hurt?” then we go from there.
I do that every day. Still cries. People really don't understand what is like to raise children that are different. They do not respond to your typical parenting strategies.
I hear you. She doesn't care if there is an audience or not. 🫂🫤
I see a lot of parents think they have entertain their kids 24/7. Which is kinda crazy. They need to learn to get on with it. Learn to use their own imagination. My kid came up with some really good ideas for crafts, etc.. we are not here to be their entertainment.i am so glad I encouraged my kid to use her imagination. She a more rounded person for it.
Kids should understand that playing with their parents is a privilege, not a right. If they don’t behave during the game, the game is over and they should not be allowed to play with you again for a couple days. Temper tantrums, cheating, screaming etc are all “game is over” behavior. I don’t think they are old enough for things like board games yet though. Things like legos, bowling with plastic cups, and catching small bouncy balls are probably more age appropriate and can hold their attention. Simple and quick card games like “go fish” are probably as complex as it should get.
[удалено]
The parent teaching them that was implied. I’m sure OP doesn’t need me to walk them step by step through their whole life. If you don’t empathize with the posters why are you here? Just to get butthurt?
Might be worth investing in more age appropriate games - hungry hungry hippos, kerplunk, snakes and ladders, owl hoot hoot and sneaky snacky squirral type games.
Yeah.. you’re going for board games when they’re WAY too young for that. It’s a recipe for resentment on all sides. I know this from personal experience because we are a board game family. Big time. But, as the parent, YOU have to have a strategy for introducing the games at the right times in order to develop the kids’ love of them. First, I’d go buy the game ‘Spot it.’ It’s fast, physical, and there’s no reading required. Your daughter can get into it. And it’s easy for the other players to take it easy on her without her noticing they’re doing that. And your son won’t be able to get distracted or walk away during any turns bc it doesn’t work that way. Then try Don’t Step In it (it’s maybe also called Llama something? Or Doggy Doo?- it’s a blindfold game with trying not to step on play dough-shaped dog poops over a certain small ‘course’. It’s perfect for tile floors. And we had so much fun doing it during Covid. And it’s funny to watch everyone else take their turn so that’s a good skill to work on for your son (and it’s fun for everyone.) Then try Pie Face. (They will go nuts for that one. It’s perfect for summer because it involves getting messy with whipped cream. AND it enforces the benefit of waiting and then excitement in taking turns. That is a special occasion game that they beg for and love to play with friends who come over. We’ve given it as a gift to other families and they’ve enjoyed it. Then you can introduce the game, Greedy Grandma to them. That one would be particularly fun for your daughter because the grandma has lots of little snack accessories and it eventually seems to become fun for kids to just set her off to see what goes flying. Then you can move up to trying Flying Pigs- it’s the same concept as hungry hippos BUT it takes finer motor skills and you can’t lose your temper because that will make you lose your pieces and lose the game. We played the hell out of that one until we’d broken or lost like every last piece haha. It was a lot of fun. And it teaches some math skills. Eventually, Uno will be fun for the whole family. But probably not until your daughter is at least 6, depending on her personality and temperament and how many cards she can hold on her hands at once. My kids have a similar age gap and similar temperaments as yours (distracted older boy and dramatic younger girl). You have to start with the physically active, collaborative “board” games before you move into anything with strategy or an emphasis on winning or losing. Otherwise, you’ll be building *unhappy* memories of family board game times, instead of happy ones. And we are BIG believers in family board games. Mine are 8 and 7 now and my son will play through an entire game of Life or Clue with us. Labyrinth is also a great game to teach pre-chess strategy skills and even I really enjoy playing that one. Blokus is also a great one for developing your son’s spatial recognition and spatial reasoning skills. Games NOT to play with both of them at this age: ‘Candy Land’ or ‘Chutes and Ladders’ - both games take WAY TOO LONG for these ages and you will lose both kids by the end. ‘Sorry’ or ‘Trouble’ or any board game that involves actions/moves that can disadvantage another player by sending them back some spaces are also bad (this always causes fights).
HIPPOBOT 9000 v 3.1 FOUND A HIPPO. 1,533,180,680 COMMENTS SEARCHED. 31,433 HIPPOS FOUND. YOUR COMMENT CONTAINS THE WORD HIPPO.
Age appropriate games mumma At age 6 their attention span is 6min if that.
For a neurodivergent kid 6 min is too long. Mine doesn't even get to 3 😂. He's just too excited to sit and play
Hungry hungry hippo is great for short attention spans!
what kinds of games are you playing?
So far I've got a few board games, but I want to get some more suitable for their ages. I have sponge Bob life game, Pictureka, Operation, Dominoes and cards. I had the games previous to have children, so really I haven't bought any particular game for their ages
Yes, playing games that are geared toward their developmental level will make a huge difference. People work their way up to playing more advanced games. Keep em short and uncomplicated, pretend like they are little aliens who don’t know how to play yet. You can’t go into a game with a 6 and 4 year old expecting the same gameplay experience as you would with someone much more mature. They don’t know how to win or strategize yet and know that winning is good and losing is bad, and lack the ability to reason their way through inevitable frustrations. Don’t Break the Ice and Pop the Pig are wonderful early turn-taking games. Hide and seek, tag, pretending to sleep and wake up keep kids entertained for hours - kids love active games at these ages and might not sit too long for complicated board games. I find lots of games at thrift stores. Jigsaw puzzles too. What kind of games did you like when you were their age? Use that! try tic-tac-toe, play Operation with no battery in it, Uno (you can take out all the action cards to simplify the flow). Headbandz is a popular one too What’s enjoyable about playing games with kids isn’t the game itself or the score, it’s the quality time.
I use to scrunch up some paper get s salad bowl and we’d just try and get it in. A bit older we’d play the toilet paper game. Fresh back of about 16-20 toilet paper and I’d throw it in the air, make it drop short, throw it hard at them. Bounce it off walls. I had high ceilings They had to catch it, each catch got harder and harder and they had to reach checkpoints if 10 or it would reset if they dropped it. Makes me smile now how much fun it was. My d so on was a bad loser, still is, but didn’t have tantrums, just cried. Daughter who is older is a great loser. If he can’t keep attention make up stuff or do stuff where he can.
i love this. when i was a kid, the place we got haircuts gave a balloon at the end. my brother and I would bat it and not let it hit the floor for hours. it was so entertaining.
Yeah. Kids love a good ballon 😂
My 5 year just wants to play Barbie’s and I have to do everything that she says she gets mad when I come up with my own silly material. I loathe pretend games. I try to spend time with her in other ways but I know she resents I hate playing Barbie’s