Mother and Child Games
Playing games allows bonding time between a mother and child and is a learning experience for very young children. Babies learn language from the sound of their parents' voices while they learn social interaction and emotion from touch and the facial expressions of adults. Mind-challenging games between mothers and their older children may help develop concentration and thinking skills.
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Infant
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Pat-a-cake is a game that originated in the 1690s and continues to be a popular game played between parents and their babies. Chanting "Pat-a-Cake, Pat-a-Cake, Baker's Man..." in rhythm while patting baby's hands together, and then chanting "roll 'em, roll 'em, roll 'em" while circling baby's hands and then using the baby's hands to mimic throwing the cake into the pan often results in excited thrills and squeals from your baby. Of course, remember to be gentle with your baby's delicate hands and arms while playing.
Toddler
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Toddlers seem to like nothing more than to be chased. Pretend to be a dog, cat or other favorite animal and chase your toddler on your hands and knees. Barking, growling or meowing while on all fours often brings smiles from your child. If your toddler doesn't enjoy being chased, she may like to ride on your back pretending you are a horse or elephant. Take care to be in a well-padded area without furniture nearby so that if your child slips from your back, she will land on a soft surface.
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Preschool
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Preschool children may like to play matching games with cards. There are several types of picture matching card decks available at toy stores. Lay all the cards face down on a table and turn over one card and then a second card. If the two don't match, they must be turned back to face-down and the next player takes a turn. Each time two matching cards are turned over, they are taken from the playing area and given to the player who made the match; that player takes another turn until he or she doesn't make a match. Once a match is not made, then the next player tries. This continues until all cards are matched and removed from the playing area. The player with the most matched cards at the end of the game wins. Matching games may develop and sharpen memory skills.
Grammer School
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Grammar school children will be ready for more challenging games -- such as checkers, tic-tac-toe, card games or paper football. Paper football is played by folding a piece of notebook paper, napkin or other type of paper into a triangle to be known as the football. Each player thumps the triangular-shaped football with his finger from his side of the table to the side belonging to his opponent. The player is considered to have scored when the corner of the football stops with the edge hanging over the edge of the table instead of stopping short or falling.
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