We’ve talked previously about how to know if our tech use is healthy, but what about when we know it’s not healthy and we need to remove and replace? Removing Drool Tech and replacing it with Analog Adventures is a fantastic way option and board games can be a fantastic analog outlet.
Board games are an easy win for families because they involve intentional time together, focused fun, and colorful designs, and accessible competition. They also can be safer and more productive than their digital cousins. Board games operate at the pace of real life, removing the risk of overstimulation, and many of them encourage interaction, imagination, and problem solving within rules they must learn and retain. These unique qualities of board games have proven useful outside of game time. They have been shown to:
- Improve frustration tolerance in children (Regine Galanti, Ph.D., Scholastic).
- Teach social skills and pro-social behavior (Mumford, 2005 as cited in Kool and Lawver, 2010).
- Improve skills such as deductive logic with games such as Clue (Neller et al 2006).
- Develop basic math skills (Ramani and Seigler 2008), (Scholtz et al 2008).
- Engage critical thinking and develop interpersonal skills (Hernnstein et al 1986), (Faull, Seattle Times).
- Maintain cognitive function as we age (Altschul, Deary 2020).
Board games develop social interaction, focus, critical thinking, and move at the pace of real life. This makes them an excellent replacement activity for unhealthy Drool Tech habits. While there might be a bit of pushback if this isn’t something you’ve typically done together as a family, take heart! Try out a few games, invest in quality snacks, and engage in this process. Your buy in to “family game night” is what makes this work.
A couple important notes for parents:
- The #1 goal of board games is to have fun. Sometimes in life we take our fun too seriously. Remember that this process isn’t about winning, following rules, or a sneaky way to trick kids into learning. The point of games is to have fun together, and anything that hinders that fun together should be removed.
- Rules are optional: If a rule is too confusing, difficult, or is causing conflict you always have the right to skip it. You can adjust the rule, make up a new one, or just find a way to play with without. (House rules, anyone?) No board game police will judge you for making a game more fun for your kids. The goal is to enjoy the process.
- It’s okay if you don’t finish the game. Some games take too much time or focus for some players. Feel free to adjust the end goal (“We’ll play ___ number of turns each”) or shorten the number of points required to win. You can even just set a time and say “Let’s play for 20 minutes” and the person ahead at that point wins. Remember the goal is fun together, not simply completing games to complete them.
Want more resources?
Check out our article on The Best Board Games To Play, which includes lists of great games by age group. You can also listen in to S.3, Ep.12 of The Gospel Tech Podcast where we discuss fun and benefits of board games!
pc: Photo by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash
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