Games for Infants & Kids

Games That Get Kids Moving

• Infants and kids love to move. Games such as Mother May I?, Simon Says, Freeze Tag, and Red Light-Green Light are appropriate for kids ages 3 and up. Younger kids, and infants may enjoy dancing to music. You can even hold the baby while you dance. Infants can participate in Pat-a-Cake, Itsy Bitsy Spider and other rhymes with hand movements. Outdoor sports are a great way to get older kids moving. Games such as softball, basketball, soccer and even a simple game of catch are great for school-age kids.

Games That Require Imagination

• Children love to use their imagination. As early as 18 months, babies can begin to pretend. Let your child choose what to act out, and you may find yourself as the baby and your child playing mommy. Suggest other imagination games and provide the props, for example, you could pretend to work at a grocery store, and using toy food items or real canned goods, allow your child to shop for items or practice being a cashier. Games such as dress up and puppet shows are also great stimulants for a child's imagination. These types of games are great for any age over a year and a half, because they can be as simple or as detailed as your little one's imagination can create.

Games That Teach Math Skills

• Math is an important skill that many children struggle with in school. Playing games that help reinforce math skills from early on can help prevent math difficulties. Infants and young children can have fun counting, sorting items and matching items. This helps develop early reasoning skills that are very important as a basis for learning math. Nursery rhymes such as This Little Piggy can help your child learn to count. Water play with different containers can begin to teach your child about volume.

Games That Teach Reading Skills

• Set the groundwork for your child to enjoy reading. Games as simple as singing the ABC's, simple flashcards, and naming items from a large board book are engaging even for babies. As your child gets older, she might enjoy games where she have to read by herself. Make a scavenger hunt, and she can read the list. Try simple crossword puzzles or word searches. Scrabble and Boggle come in junior versions for elementary school children.

Games for Very Young Infants

• Infants enjoy colors, sounds and people's faces. Since they can do very little on their own, use their senses to play. Show them bright colored toys and let them grab at them. Take different fabrics and have your infant feel them and see which one they prefer. Infants also enjoy hearing you make silly sounds or watching you make silly faces. This can be made into a game by doing it in the mirror and watching how your baby reacts.