Games for Grandparents to Play With Kids

Infants and Toddlers

• Toddlers and infants love to play peek-a-boo and itsy-bitsy spider or make attempts to mimic animals. If you have a grandchild who is a toddler, consider toys that are simple but can keep their attention, like small colorful balls and blocks or Lego-type toys. Toddlers, as well as some infants, love to draw with colored chalk on sidewalks and driveways. Have paper handy for crayon drawing and tracing games you can do together.

Elementary School Age Grandkids

• Some great indoor games for elementary school age grandkids are card games like Rummy, Crazy Eights, Spades and Old Maid. Nursery rhyme memory games are fun, too, as your grandchild tries to guess which word is missing from the rhyme. Tell a story and leave out a favorite part, letting your grandchild finish the story. Try playing outdoor games like catch or badminton.

Writing Pad Games

• Grandkids will enjoy playing Hangman because it is a wonderful guessing game. It will help your grandchild learn how to discover a word or phrase that fits, before time runs out and the man is hung. The excitement builds as each correct answer keeps the hanging figure alive and every wrong answer hangs him. You can also play "Remember the Scene," a game that helps improve observation skills. Ask the child to look at a scene for 30 to 40 seconds, turn the child around a few times and then ask the child to write a list of everything from the scene the child remembers. The player with the longest list is the winner.

Memory Games

• There are some truly great classic memory games that your grandchild and you will enjoy playing like "20 Questions," "I Spy" or "Two Truths and a Lie." Besides having fun, your grandchild will learn how to develop useful memory skills. Try, " I Spy with my little Eye", where you have to provide a adjective clue regarding what you see, and watch your grandchild try to quickly find the correct answer. Playing "20 Questions" involves determining what place, person or thing you are thinking of by only answering yes and no questions.

Social Network Games

• Even if you and your grandchild are separated by distance, you will be able to stay in touch and bond by playing games on social networking sites like Facebook. Younger children can play guessing games or fill-in-the blank rhymes by using a Web cam. Older grandchildren can arrange to meet you on an Internet game site.