No doubt you’ve heard the message “play with your child” but what they don’t tell you is what games are good to play and how to play them. Did you know it’s these two things – the what and how – that makes the difference to your child’s development?
So why take the time to play with your child? Well research shows us play allows children to use their creativity as they develop their imagination, dexterity, and physical, cognitive, and social and emotional skills. Phew! That’s a lot of areas play can influence. Play is also so important for healthy brain development. Most of all play is fun and a simple joy that children love and by playing with your child, you are giving them time when they feel special.
To help you out we’re going to answer the what and how for playing with your child by telling you about a game we like to use in clinic and sharing our top three tips on how to play the game to encourage your child’s listening, talking and thinking skills.
SHOPPING LIST by Orchard Toys
What’s it about?
The Shopping List lotto game is a colourful and simple vocabulary game which holds children’s attention! Players take it in turns to turn over cards showing everyday items, from tomatoes to washing powder to pizza. If they match the pictures on their shopping list, they are encouraged to put them in their trolley. The winner is the first player to collect all the items on their list and fill their trolley or basket
It is good for children ages 3-7.
Our top 3 tips
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With younger children place the pictures face down and take turns to choose one, then see whose shopping trolley it should go in and help each other fill the trolleys. This is nice for encouraging social skills such as sharing, turn-taking and helping others.
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With older children it can be fun to take turns to be the shopkeeper and encourage questioning and requesting skills. E.g. in response to ‘Hello what do you need today?’ – ‘I need tomatoes please’.
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Talking about the items, you can give additional information. This helps extend your child’s vocabulary and concept knowledge e.g. I’ve got carrots…do you have any vegetables in your trolley? My carrots are orange? Can you tell me something about the things in your trolley? This is fantastic for encouraging categorising and describing skills.
REMEMBER: MOST OF ALL HAVE FUN PLAYING TOGETHER.
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