When is the last time your family had “family time”? According to research, the average American family spends less than forty minutes a day with each other. Between work, school and a host of other activities on a schedule, families have very little time to interact with each other. If you feel that daily distractions are interfering with the quality time you spend with your family it’s time to make some changes.
What better way to kick off quality time than through a family card game night? While most families don’t play traditional card games anymore, there are actually numerous benefits to getting everyone together to play cards. Here’s how you can ensure that whole family has fun.
Bring Family Game Night Back with Cards
If you’re interested in bringing game night in your household, one of the easiest games to play to get things on the roll is card games. It’s an activity that each family member even the little ones can get the hang of and truly enjoy. Yes, whether traditional or modern, card games are engaging and it can teach your children important developmental skills.
Setting aside a night each week where the family can play card games will give the kids something they can look forward to every week. It helps strengthen family relationships because it offers a great time to bond. It also aids in improving communication skills especially when you work within teams that are competing against one another.
Card Games and Developmental Skills
Did you know that card games can help children learn math, improve they’re memory and aid in developing a host of cognitive skills? There are numerous academic card games that are great for teaching your children math, vocabulary and other general academics. Studies have shown that just spending as little as fifteen minutes playing academic card games can have a drastic impact on a kid’s academic career.
From shuffling cards to dealing, playing card games is bound to enhance your children’s motor skills. This is can lead to later success in sports, writing, playing instruments and other areas of life. Strategy card games can help children develop problem-solving skills which are vital. When playing such games together, be sure to help your children be sure to teach them effective problem-solving skills that can employ to make their next move. Help them see how they can use these skills in real life situations.
Best Family Card Games
What are some of the best games to play? It’s important to give consideration to the ages of the children in your family when picking out a card game to play for the night. Here are some games you can consider:
1.Go Fish
Go fish is an ideal card game for homes with small children. It’s very easy to understand and you can have up to ten players. The player with the most cards in their hands at the end of the game is the winner. This game just requires a standard deck of cards.
2. Crazy Eight
Crazy Eight is another simple game that is ideal for all age ranges. The purpose of this game is to get rid of all the cards in your hand. You can use a standard deck of cards.
3. War
War is another card game that is ideal for children ages ten and up. The player with the highest card rank is the winner of the game.
4. Old Maid
Old Maid is a classic card game in a family of games called “scapegoat ”. The objective of this game is to avoid having a particular card or set of cards. You can play with up to eight players.
5. Concentration
This is a memory game that requires a player to match up pairs of tiles or pictures depending on the deck of cards. This game has up to thirty-two levels which increase in intensity on each level. It can be enjoyed by all age ranges.
Yes, some of the best family card games can be played with a standard deck of cards which is inexpensive. However, there are several different types of card games you can purchase including some favorites such as Uno and Monopoly.
Free Card Games
We all love the word “free”. Family game night can cost you nothing when you use card gaming websites or apps that you can download right to your phone. Both online and mobile gaming applications have a large selection of classic and modern free card games that can be enjoyed by the whole family.
Now is the time to place emphasis on spending quality time with your family. Bring joy and laughter to your family at least one night a week through a game of cards. Whether you have small children or teens, everyone is bound to have fun playing games.
