What is the best non-electronic games for kids.
Dec 3, 2006, 9:11 am
#1
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What is the best non-electronic games for kids.
Keeping the younger kids occupied is a chore. What are best board games these days for the under 12 crowd? Someone keeps suggesting Chutes and Ladders but isn't that game older than dirt? The interaction of a board game seems more socially rewarding than handing the kid a PSP.
Dec 3, 2006, 9:58 am
#2
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Our almost 9 year old LOVES yahtzee, and there is a (quieter) travel size available. There are travel size editions of lots of board games but I think it depends on the child. She also loves horses, so I bought her the Breyer horse card game. It's good for on board as well. I started playing Scrabble and Boggle at a very young age and we have travel sizes of both of those - however, I am the only one keen to play those.
Dec 3, 2006, 10:08 am
#3
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My son always enjoyed brain-teaser-type puzzles. Rush Hour is a good one; tangrams are fun. Both are nice and small for packing.
http://www.amazon.com/Rush-Hour-Traf...UTF8&s=generic
Brick-by-Brick is another good one.
http://www.amazon.com/Think-Fun-Bric...438358-4863361
I think all of these are recommended for ages 8 and up, and in some cases there are junior versions for younger ones.
http://www.amazon.com/Rush-Hour-Traf...UTF8&s=generic
Brick-by-Brick is another good one.
http://www.amazon.com/Think-Fun-Bric...438358-4863361
I think all of these are recommended for ages 8 and up, and in some cases there are junior versions for younger ones.
Dec 4, 2006, 5:26 am
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Keeping the younger kids occupied is a chore. What are best board games these days for the under 12 crowd? Someone keeps suggesting Chutes and Ladders but isn't that game older than dirt? The interaction of a board game seems more socially rewarding than handing the kid a PSP.
My 4 yo boy loves Chutes and Ladders. He also has a Dora Bingo, but I guess that is partially electronic.
What about Life and Monopoly?
Dec 4, 2006, 9:28 am
#5
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OK so you are saying that Chutes and Ladders is still current. Partially electronic is not a problem - I meant I wanted to avoid video games. Monopoly takes way too much attention and time. Plus I have been unsure if Monopoly would be apropriate for a 3-year-old.
Dec 4, 2006, 10:32 am
#6
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Chutes and Ladders is his favorite right now. It is very useful to help teach him how to take turns and counting from one to six.
I wouldn't quite go with Monopoly yet.
Have you tried age appropriate jigsaw puzzles?
Also, "Concentration" flip card games are quite good. Pick a character he likes -- Nemo, Cars, etc... they have them...
Dec 4, 2006, 8:10 pm
#7
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My three year old has zero tolerance for any game. It makes me question her parentage except that in every other way she acts like me. I don't know - maybe she'll like games later. I can keep hoping she'll play boggle with me since no one else will.
Dec 4, 2006, 8:27 pm
#8
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Keba
Dec 4, 2006, 10:53 pm
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Not a game in the multiplayer sense, but ColorWonder has puzzle books as well as coloring books - no mess, very portable, very quiet and my kid loves 'em. (he used to take them to Church until he got old enough to pay attention to the service)
how about..
Dec 5, 2006, 5:46 am
#12
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the most obvious one of all
Keeping the younger kids occupied is a chore. What are best board games these days for the under 12 crowd? Someone keeps suggesting Chutes and Ladders but isn't that game older than dirt? The interaction of a board game seems more socially rewarding than handing the kid a PSP.
Read to and with him/her. My son is absolutely crazy for killer whales, sharks and dolphins right now -- we've had every book (with lots of pictures) from the public library on the subject at our house at least once!
He memorizes many facts from the book and if you forget to read one caption, he reminds you of it and what it is!
Dec 6, 2006, 11:28 am
#13
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By far one of the best games on the market is Blokus and they now have a travel version for 2 people.
We play this with our 7 and 9 year old and the 7 year old (who has an affinity for spatial things) regularly finishes in the top 2 out of the 4 of us (I won't say who else is usually there - hee!).
We play this with our 7 and 9 year old and the 7 year old (who has an affinity for spatial things) regularly finishes in the top 2 out of the 4 of us (I won't say who else is usually there - hee!).
Mar 3, 2007, 6:18 pm
#14
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Until age 2, I know of no non-parent games a child can do alone. However, a pad of Post-It notes (no pen, no markers, just Post-Its) is a remarkable thing to pack! All three of my kids were fascinated with the stickiness and, by the end of the flight, would have covered every surface, including themselves. Sometimes I would draw a cat or a dog or a baby or something on one, and that one became "special" for a while.
My daughters were very easy to deal with on planes. I could bring plain white paper and washable markers (Pipsqueaks by Crayola are fabulous) and a few stickers and they were set for 1-2 hours. I also brought a bright clipboard (with the low-profile clip) so they weren't stuck working on the tray.
We've always had a DVD player for them, and now both my husband and I have Video iPods that we load with a few SpongeBob episodes, just in case the DVD doesn't do it for them, or if we're split apart. If you're thinking of using a DVD for more than two kids, bring an amplified splitter for the headphones like the Boosteroo or your kids may not be able to hear the audio, even turned all the way up. (I use it even if we're not splitting the audio to 2+ headphones, since I find I otherwise have to crank the sound to a ridiculous level when I'm on a plane.)
My son, on the other hand, is a builder. I did not think I would EVER come up with anything great for him until I saw Klutz Building Cards in a store, gasped, and bought their entire collection. These are like thick playing cards with notches cut out, decorated like castle walls or stained-glass windows. My 3yo son, all by himself, put together a magnificent castle on the tray table and was incredibly busy and proud for an entire 3-hour flight. All I did was get the cards ready for him* and he worked completely by himself the rest of the time. I hadn't even brought a book, because I didn't think I'd get to it, so I know quite a bit about the offerings of the SkyMall.
These Klutz Building Cards do not look like anything special when they are in the package. But once you've built something, it really does look like a 3-D castle or pirate ship, or whatever. They're lightweight, portable, fun, varied, ... I can't say enough good things about them.
Klutz Building Cards
(Note that although I linked to Klutz, all these products are available at Amazon. Just search for Klutz, Klutz Building, Klutz Travel, etc.)
Klutz also has a travel section on their website with other books that might be good. The Spirograph book is fun if the person in front of you doesn't mind a vibrating seat on the plane. (Better save that one for a bulkhead or bring a clipboard.)
*NOTE: If you buy these Building Cards from Klutz, you MUST cut open the package at home. You will be angry and bloodied if you wait until the plane ride, because they are packaged in a hard plastic case designed to thwart entry. I would also advise you to break them apart at home, too, unless you think your child would be interested.
Once our kids were reading well, we insisted they bring 1-2 paperback chapter books, and that helped tremendously, too. We gave them a quarter for each 15 minutes they read without bugging us. $1 an hour for peace on plane...
Good luck!
My daughters were very easy to deal with on planes. I could bring plain white paper and washable markers (Pipsqueaks by Crayola are fabulous) and a few stickers and they were set for 1-2 hours. I also brought a bright clipboard (with the low-profile clip) so they weren't stuck working on the tray.
We've always had a DVD player for them, and now both my husband and I have Video iPods that we load with a few SpongeBob episodes, just in case the DVD doesn't do it for them, or if we're split apart. If you're thinking of using a DVD for more than two kids, bring an amplified splitter for the headphones like the Boosteroo or your kids may not be able to hear the audio, even turned all the way up. (I use it even if we're not splitting the audio to 2+ headphones, since I find I otherwise have to crank the sound to a ridiculous level when I'm on a plane.)
My son, on the other hand, is a builder. I did not think I would EVER come up with anything great for him until I saw Klutz Building Cards in a store, gasped, and bought their entire collection. These are like thick playing cards with notches cut out, decorated like castle walls or stained-glass windows. My 3yo son, all by himself, put together a magnificent castle on the tray table and was incredibly busy and proud for an entire 3-hour flight. All I did was get the cards ready for him* and he worked completely by himself the rest of the time. I hadn't even brought a book, because I didn't think I'd get to it, so I know quite a bit about the offerings of the SkyMall.
These Klutz Building Cards do not look like anything special when they are in the package. But once you've built something, it really does look like a 3-D castle or pirate ship, or whatever. They're lightweight, portable, fun, varied, ... I can't say enough good things about them.
Klutz Building Cards
(Note that although I linked to Klutz, all these products are available at Amazon. Just search for Klutz, Klutz Building, Klutz Travel, etc.)
Klutz also has a travel section on their website with other books that might be good. The Spirograph book is fun if the person in front of you doesn't mind a vibrating seat on the plane. (Better save that one for a bulkhead or bring a clipboard.)
*NOTE: If you buy these Building Cards from Klutz, you MUST cut open the package at home. You will be angry and bloodied if you wait until the plane ride, because they are packaged in a hard plastic case designed to thwart entry. I would also advise you to break them apart at home, too, unless you think your child would be interested.
Once our kids were reading well, we insisted they bring 1-2 paperback chapter books, and that helped tremendously, too. We gave them a quarter for each 15 minutes they read without bugging us. $1 an hour for peace on plane...
Good luck!
Mar 4, 2007, 12:46 am
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I envy you. 3 hours? Nothing... We are about to get on a 2 hour then a 17 hour flight! Yes, SEVENTEEN HOURS! Thank God this particular cabin crew likes him or they would banish is to the lav for the trip for disturbing other pax...
Joe
Joe