My husband and I spent the night before our family vacation staring at our bar cart that we converted into a board game center. We couldn't decide on which games to bring. In truth we take them pretty seriously, in the sense that we really try to pair our company with the games we have available. We were discussing which ones would work particularly well for this trip considering only the adults on vacation, not even giving my toddler a second thought.
When we got to our destination and began unpacking, our son immediately noticed the three shiny boxes we unloaded onto the shore house's table.
"Mama," he breathed. "What is that?"
I look up and notice he's pointing to Jumanji with michevieous eyes and finger that was wagging in excitement.
My husband and I shared a mutual "oh-my-god-it's-finally-happening" glance. I discreetly motioned to my husband to settle down with a flick of my wrist and rigid fingers.
Be cool man we don't want to ruin this
"Oh that's a board game, Bub. Dad and I like to play them sometimes," I answered, trying to keep it casual, barely containing my own excitement.
"Can I play?" he asked eagerly.
"Yes!" my husband and I exclaimed in unison, completely abandoning any veneer of cool we were trying to keep up.
My mom looked at us like we were nuts.
"How do you expect him to play this," she more stated than asked. It was a fair question, after all, the age range was something like 8 and up.
We decided to set it up, all while my normally bouncing-off-the-walls toddler sat patiently watching our every move. My husband, who is the offical rule-reader in our family, patiently explained the rules, asking if he understood.
He said he did and we just went for it.
For an entire 45 minutes, all of us were engaged in game.
Let me repeat:
MY 3-YEAR-OLD BALL OF ENERGY SAT FOR 45 MINUTES. PLAYING THE SAME GAME.
This is not a drill, people. We of course made a few modifications to the rules and parts where he struggled, but ultimately he kept up with the rest of us. He even lost a few times and there were no tears. We just played the game over and over, and truly, it was some of the most fun we've had as a family.
So we decided that we'd start investing in a few that were actually somewhat age-appropriate.
We landed on a few at a local Renaissance Faire (I'm sure you've pieced together by now that we are huge, huge nerds.) We made it our mission to find less competitive games and more collaborative ones, games that have a winner and loser but they need to depend on other players in the game.
It was there we discovered My First Castle Panic, Toria and Aquarius. Each one fit the criteria in one way or another, and with every game, he'd get more and more excited about strategizing and making moves that helped us reach our goal.
Also, his new (and hopefully forever lasting) interest in board games has been a huge relief.
I am absolutely a get on the floor and play with your kid kind of mom, but nothing drives me crazier than hours of pretend playing. With a million things to do running through my head, it can be so hard to get into character and I end up getting frustrated and bored. While I absolutely will soldier on through that monotony, having board games as a playtime option has been such a breath of fresh air.
It's been a way for us to engage as a family and for us to put down the screens. We are learning to work together, and managing big feelings with losses. He's learning how to be happy for others who win, and take joy in genuinely winning himself.
And honestly, I hope he wants to play board games with us until we are old and wrinkly, because truly this is the season of playtime I living for.
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