Hi! Thanks for coming to visit and find out about some of the fun, cost-effective activities that both you and your child might enjoy. Before I get to the list I just want to start with a quick reminder of the key points from the 'Behaviour Breakthrough' that this resource relates to (Find something that both you and your child enjoy).
Quality time is key to improving your child's behaviour, well-being and self worth.
Many behaviour issues can stem from a lack of time and attention.
Spending quality time with your child can require energy and focus, especially when you have a lot on your plate.
It's far easier to be present, focused and energetic when you yourself genuinely enjoy the activity you are sharing with your child.
Finding such activities can take a proactive, experimental effort and through trial and error, you can find winning activities.
As your child gets older, it's likely that they will lose interest in activities that they previously enjoyed with you. In this case, you must adapt, go back to the drawing board and find new ones.
Here are some activities that have been a real hit both with me and my daughter and also the children at my education centres.
Lost - This is great little time killer on car journeys or if your child is just a bit bored and wants some interaction. You need nothing for this activity, just you and your child. Ok so it's a basic 'word association' game with a fun twist. You and your child agree on a starting word...for example 'banana'. You then take it in turns to say a word which is associated. So it might go something like this 'banana' > 'yellow' > 'daffodil' > 'flower' > 'rose' > 'red' > 'blood' > 'vampire' > 'fangs' > 'snake'.... Now here's the twist, when you and your child reach a point where the current word has absolutely nothing to do with the first word e.g. 'cloud' appears to have nothing to do with 'banana', you can agree that you are 'Lost'. One of you simply says 'Are we lost?' and if you both agree it's time to start working your way back to the word 'banana' by continuing your word association. Here's an example of how this might happen 'cloud' > 'white' > 'snow' > 'snowman' > 'carrot' > 'vegetable' > 'fruit' > 'banana!!' Do not be deceived! This is nowhere near as easy as I have just made it look because there are certain rules...(i) No two words can be repeated at anytime during your game. (ii) You are not allowed to discuss why you've picked a particular word, all you can say is your chosen word. So you may well say 'snowman' (intentionally setting up the word 'carrot' as you can see the route back) and your child might just say 'scarf'. This is both funny and frustrating. You'll have a big high five moment when you finally make it back to your original word then most likely have a discussion about all opportunities you gave one another that were missed. Enjoy!
Monopoly Deal - This game just works, kids get it straight away and its good competitive fun. Its Monopoly turned into a simple, fast paced card game. You can steal one another's cash and charge each other rent. The first one to get three full set's of property wins. It takes about 15 minutes per game but you'll mots likely play a few. Give it a go, you'll both love it. You can pick it up in Tescos but here's the amazon link https://www.amazon.co.uk/Monopoly-B07H5HFTWC-Deal-English/dp/B07H5HFTWC/ref=sr_1_2?crid=34ZOO7OF2975U&dchild=1&keywords=monopoly+deal&qid=1612273218&sprefix=monopoly+d%2Caps%2C159&sr=8-2
Magnetic Balls- These are the bee's knees. You get 216 little magnetic balls and they come arranged in a perfect cube. As soon as you pull them apart the fun starts, your child will have fun making all sorts of different shapes with them and you will be compelled by the prospect of getting these balls back into the original cube formation (there is a knack to it which may have to look up). These are a winner, here's a link (make sure you go for the 216 piece option https://www.lightinthebox.com/en/p/magnet-toys-216-pieces-mm-stress-relievers-diy-kit-magnet-toys-super-strong-rare-earth-magnets-magnetic-balls-metal-diy-office-desk-toys_p6255260.html?category_id=36182&prm=1.2.1.1
Dobble - I'm not going to lie, this game does give me a little bit of anxiety but I do feel like a boss whenever I win and my daughter loves it. She is 13 now and I would say she beats me about 9 out of 10 games. Very simple, there are 55 circular cards which you split between you. Each card has multiple cartoon like images and symbols on it. Every card has one image or symbol in common with very other card. So one card gets laid and the first person to find the matching symbol lays their card on top and the process repeats. The winner is the first person to get rid of all their cards. I'm not actually sure what's wrong with me, I panic and can't find the matching picture to save my life but it is good fun. Again, this one can be picked up in Tescos but here's a link https://www.amazon.co.uk/Asmodee-ASMDOBB01EN-Dobble-Card-Game/dp/B0031QBHMA/ref=sr_1_3?dchild=1&keywords=dobble&qid=1612275693&sr=8-3
The David Walliams book collection: Do you read to your child? Most of us do when they're very young but this often peters out as they get a bit older, far too early in my opinion. The David Walliams books are the answer to this. They are responsible for hours and hours of special bonding time between me and my daughter (we read the bloody lot). They're fantastic, I personally enjoyed every one of his books and during this wonderful period of time, we went from me reading to my daughter, to us reading together, to her reading to me. Get on it. Again Tescos, but here's a link https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=david+williams+books&crid=2PA17TGYH05EM&sprefix=david+williams+book%2Caps%2C147&ref=nb_sb_ss_ts-a-p_1_19
Sussed - Very smart little game. It's basically a kind of 'How well do you know your child / parent' type game. Multiple imaginary scenarios are read out from the cards and every selects what action they would take in each one. You then have to guess what you think your child would do and vice versa and that's how you win points. This games provokes a great level of interaction and some interesting conversations. The whole family can play of course and it doesn't have to be played exclusively with parent and child. Link https://www.amazon.co.uk/SUSSED-Hilarious-Family-Friendly-Conversation/dp/B004QIRNC0/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?dchild=1&keywords=sussed&qid=1612277421&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEzVFVPVDVGMEVQS0MwJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwODc2MzI3M0E4VDNTQ0xXWlQ1VSZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwMzkzNDY3MkFKMTlXTVI4SkhBWSZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=
Guesstures - This is basically charades against the clock. You know that kind of clapper board thing they use in the movies when they snap it shut in front of the camera a say 'take 1'? Well you get one of those and its a timer. You take four cards which have the things you need to act out on them and you place them in the clapper board and start the timer. As soon as the other person guesses what you're trying to act out correctly you must grab the card from the clapper board to get your points. If you're too late the card drops out of sight into the clapper board. Manic and exciting. Here's the link https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hasbro-B0638-Guesstures-Game/dp/B00NQQU0O6/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=guesstures&qid=1612278851&sr=8-1
Bid - Ok so here's another great game that both adults and kids enjoy which costs nothing and you don't really need anything other than pen and a piece of paper to keep score. This can be played with as many people as you like. The main skill here is to name as many of 'something' as you can within a given timeframe. I'll explain...How many girls names beginning with 'S' do you think you can come up with within 5 minutes? 10? 20? 30? What' your bid? The first thing you do is decide on a category between you e.g. Car manufacturers or Disney Princesses or Foods beginning with the letter P. Once you've agreed on the category, you all begin 'bidding' on how may you think you can name within 5 minutes. You continue to outbid each other until one person says something like "no way you can't do that many, i'm not bidding anymore" at which point the person with the highest bid is left to put their money where their mouth is. The timer starts. If the person is successful and meets their bid within the time frame they get a number of points equal to their bid, if on the other hand they fail to name enough they lose the number of points equal to their bid. So yes you can end up with a minus score quite easily. This gets very competitive but is a lot of fun for both parents and children. Give it a go!
The next two activities make use of an iPad or a phone. I'm not usually one for electronics when it comes to quality time but for these two next ones i'll make an exception as they're fantastic fun and really promote cooperation and interaction between parent and child.
Exploding Kittens - This is actually available as a card came which you can play across the table with your child. The card game itself is very good but the app is just brilliant. You both download the app on your phone and you take turns in 'drawing cards' from a draw pile. The idea is to make sure that you're not the one who draws the 'Exploding Kitten' card because if you do, you blow up and the game is over for you...unless of course you have a 'Defuse' card at which point you can live and place the 'Exploding Kitten' card back into the deck in place of your choosing. There are many many more colourful and whacky cards that you can play which are all designed to help you saddle your opponent with the dreaded 'Exploding Kitten'! If we're ever bored, my daughter and I often jump on FaceTime and have a game together as she lives with her mum. Go to the app store and search for 'Exploding Kittens' you'll love it. If you'd like to play the physical card game (also highly recommended) here is the link https://www.amazon.co.uk/Exploding-Kittens-About-Explosions-Sometimes/dp/B010TQY7A8/ref=sr_1_2?crid=Y24U6MBZDMBD&dchild=1&keywords=exploding+kittens&qid=1612281738&sprefix=exploding+kittens%2Caps%2C163&sr=8-2
Lumino City - This is an absolutely stunning masterpiece of an adventure game created for the iPad. In this game you are a little girl looking for her lost grandad and you go on a big adventure, exploring, speaking to people and solving puzzles in this very colourful, quirky and interesting city. The guy who made this game must have had a lot of time on his hands as he actually made every 'scene' in this game out of real materials and photographed them. What you're looking at as you play the game are real hand-made models. The effort that has gone into this game is amazing and it really captured mine and my daughters imagination, we had a great time playing it together. Search for Lumino City in the app store. Check out this pic.
Well I hope at least one of these things will be a hit with both you and your child. Thank you for reading. If you've found this on facebook, please give it a little share so that others can try out some of the activities as well.
All the best,
Ross Ritchie
Behaviour Specialist
The Breakthrough Consultancy
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