One of my family goals for this year was doing a weekly family game night. My kids are 5, 4 and 2, so I figured if we wanted to be a gaming family, we’d have to start training them young. Both my husband and I grew up playing board games with our families. So it only seemed natural to carry on the tradition with our own little ones.
With a goal and lots of patience, I set out to create weekly gaming memories. And this is what I’ve learned so far:
Set your expectations low.
With three little ones, board games are played a lot differently in our home. We have to explain the rules a lot. As in, repeat them for every time our four-year-old takes a turn. But that’s OK—because he’ll eventually learn the rules and be able to play without being reminded.
Have the right games.
My husband likes games that require a lot of strategy (Ticket to Ride). I like games that require a lot of talking (Catch Phrase). Neither of these type of games work well with little kids. So we play Old Maid, Yeti in my Spaghetti, Connect Four, and Dominoes instead. And the kids love it! That’s all that matters…for now.
Laugh.
It’s easy for me to get frustrated at the amount of time it takes to complete one round of Go Fish, but I have to remind myself that we’re making memories. And the kids are having fun. So, even though I didn’t have a shark the last three times my son asked, I’ll play along with his antics and laugh with him.
Serve food.
Instead of having dinner and then playing games, I decided to make a bunch of snack foods for dinner and eat while we played. Think crackers, cheese and salami, pigs in a blanket, veggies and dip, cut up fruit on toothpicks…this is when Pinterest becomes your best friend.
Let them cheat.
I’m not really into the mindset of catering to my kids, but sometimes? It’s OK to let them win at game nigh. Not every game—just enough to keep them engaged. I mean, who doesn’t want to play more when they’re winning?! So go ahead and let them “win” that game of Old Maid. You won’t screw up their winning/losing mentality—I promise.
Creating a family game night takes a lot of patience and determination.
But the memories we are making are worth it every single time.
