HOPE TRIUMPHS
EVERYONE SCORES WITH A FAMILY BOARD GAME
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By REVEREND TONY ZEKVELD
Playing board games is healthy; healthy for many different reasons. It’s good for children and for their mental health; especially now that they are not in the classroom at school. Playing board games is an excellent mental and social activity.
It gets them away from being alone on their electronic devices like phones and tablets, and from becoming antisocial in a virtual world.
Playing board games is also good for bonding within the family. It’s a joy to see the rare sight of dad, mom and children playing a fun game of Monopoly or Chutes and Ladders. These teach life’s communication skills and social skills at a young age, including a healthy sense of competition, learning how to lose (hopefully well!), but also being happy for the one who wins. In addition, depending on what kind of board game it is, it also builds on spelling or math skills and logical reasoning. It’s a good way of applying classroom learning in the home!
If you haven’t done it, I encourage you to try it and make the time for it. Board games are quite popular right now. Sir Games-A-Lot is a board game store in Barrie, Ontario, which sells hundreds of different board and card games. Some of the popular ones include Settlers of Catan, Ticket to Ride, Seven Wonders, Dominion, Code Names and the perennial favourite, Scrabble.
I know that in the Christian community, much emphasis is placed on building strong relationships, especially within the family and the church. Part of this is learning how to relate and live with one another, how to forgive and serve one another. This also includes learning how to deal with disappointments in life, as well as facing the sins common among us, such as, jealousy, lying and anger.
Playing board games with children, beginning as young as four years old, is excellent ground for training in virtue. We might be inclined to think that it is a waste of time or that there are more important things to do. But this is not so. Board games help you deal with sibling rivalry, or a child needing to face responsibility when he tips the board on the floor when he or she is losing a game.
My wife and I have found this simple activity very valuable in training our children how to live out their relationship with Christ and with others.
Reverend Tony Zekveld can be reached at 416-740-0543 and tzekveld@primus.ca.