Budget friendly Games for Kids
In today’s fast paced world it seems as if children have the attention span of a flea. It’s no wonder when they are exposed to arcade style necessities such as computers and television. We forget about the good old days when all there was to do is relax with a good book and play cards with your friends. To be honest television and computers have been around for quite a while, but only recently have they been around to the point where we feel we need them. When people say they are looking for a cheap game the first thing that comes to mind is the discount rack at your local video game store. Is this what we should be looking for, for our children?
Digital or Analog
When people hear the word analog the first thing that comes to mind is the music we listened to before the ninety’s, cassette tapes, records and eight tracks. People rarely consider the old chutes and ladders they played as a child to be an analog game. The truth is games don’t always require batteries and a remote. A game of cards can keep your heart pumping and you on the edge of your seat. For a young child this analog game can be just what he or she needs to learn how to count. A good game of go fish is sometimes exactly what a child needs to feel like they accomplished something. In most good drug stores you can purchase a deck of cards for less than the price of a happy meal.
Board games are also a great way to spend the evening with your child. As mentioned earlier Chutes and Ladders is one of our generations past times. This is a game that can be found at most garage sales for less than fifty cents. Keep in mind that the idea is that a child learns to do more than read, gain good eye to hand coordination from a game. Children need to know that they are appreciated and are worth spending time with. When you sit down at the table with your child and play a good board game you are actually giving them something more meaningful than playing a game. You’re showing them how to relate to other people and play fair.
Our favorite board games are Candyland, Chutes and Ladders, and good ole’ Operation. My son and play them for hours which is a really nice break from video games. I can’t wait until he is older and can get into Monopoly and Uno.- Karla Bond- Editor
The new Generation
In our technical world it would be a crime not to mention the fact that some of the cheapest games may be found for your digital device. For instance, let’s take the iPad or android device and hits such. When looking in the app store for you iPad there are thousands of games that you can get to teach your child to read, write or even apply math. These games can be found for pennies and not only teach your children but can keep them interested and excited for a while. These are not games good for group settings but they are good for your children.
My son has a Kindle which we can get amazing book and educational apps on. He really likes the drawing app we got him. Makes me feel better that he is still using him imagination while using the Kindle.- Karla Bond- Editor
Interestingly enough most people’s cell phones can have games on them that are free. Recently it has been discussed that a good game of memory can teach a child cognitive skills that last for the rest of their life. Most memory games for the iPhone or the android are free. On the go, waiting in line or sitting in the car, there is no reason a child can’t take your phone and do something stimulating instead of watching a movie or throwing a temper tantrum.
Older is Cheaper
For the most part older games tend to be cheaper. This goes for digital or analog games. If you were to go and buy a Nintendo you would be spending one tenth of what you would spend if you were to go and buy the top of the line new system. Just the same if you were to go buy a set of dice and a deck of cards you would be spending one-one hundredth of what you would spend if you went out and bought a computer for your child to play with. With this in mind keep it simple and play with your child.
Happy gaming.
Author Bio: The post is written by Jason Phillips, a freelancer and a content writer. He has contributed several articles at many blogs and now he is a content writer at Mario Games 365. At his free time he enjoys swimming and playing soccer.
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