The top games to awaken my child from 0 to 10 years old

Our experts: 

  • Stephanie Couturier psychomotor therapist, author of “My hedgehog child”, ed. Marabout, and “I can do it! The great book of self-confidence ”, ed. Gründ.
  • Dr Pierre-Jean Egler, child psychiatrist at Caen University Hospital.

 

0-7 month games: XXL balls and cubes

To do what ? Baby is waking up day by day and to stimulate his five senses, he is offered to manipulate objects of different sizes and shapes, in flexible material: ideally foam or fabric balls. Gradually, he will pass from the involuntary self to the voluntary self, from archaic reflexes to the first times he will seize an object, grab it… Perfect for regulating his tone, connecting his neurons to his gestures and relaxing his muscles.

We ensure … avoid overstimulation: baby, always on the ground (no deckchair) will be called upon between two free times when he does what he wants.

And also…  the famous Sophie la girafe which makes a “pouet” and the teething rings, designed for a natural grip, offer interesting stimulation thanks to flexible pins, sounds, colors…

Games for 8-12 months: Operation 4 legs

To do what ? Walking on all fours is an essential step in creating the great coordinations of your future movements. If he tries to go from crawling to walking too quickly, baby will have a hard time coordinating future movements. The idea? In a room (preferably the living room), we install cushions at the foot of the sofa and the coffee table which prevents him from standing up so that he naturally chooses 4 legs!

We ensure … always be attentive to avoid injuries and accidents (electrical outlets, etc.).

And also… he is offered an awakening carpet loaded with colors and shapes to encourage him to crawl on all fours. Or play mommy / daddy Bear by getting on all fours too, above him …

Activities for 12-14 months: Let’s go shopping!

To do what ? Baby stands and pushes a wooden chest with wheels. Little by little, he will find his balance by exploring his plantar and postural supports. It will even be able to grip fairly small objects.

We ensure … First fill your cart with small bottles of water and objects heavy enough not to risk runaway and fall. And of course, we are watching him closely.

And also… the small push carts (with brakes) and the carriers are other “walking aids” which will push the baby to start with confidence and to consolidate his walk.

24-36 month games: Blowing bubbles

To do what ? To train for cleanliness, let’s play! It’s all a question of tone and the ability to contract and release the sphincters. Suddenly, with a glass of water and a straw, the child has fun blowing and sucking. It makes bubbles, it’s funny and the tone of the mouth goes in the same direction as the control of cleanliness.

We ensure … encourage and comfort him, even in the event of an accident.

And also… we offer our child a doll, a small pot, diapers, wipes by showing him the procedure. He is made to stick stickers on the toilet wall each time he pees in the toilet. We can invest in a potty training kit, playful with its magic stickers to stick to the bottom of the pot and with each wee, the big black cloud disappears in favor of a smiling sun.

Games up to 24 months: Nesting, disassembling, pouring and mixing

To do what ? To coordinate the eye and the hand, learn to regulate your strength and muscle your fingers, gain tone and train your fine motor skills, there is nothing like having fun fitting and removing Duplos. Plasticine, salt dough and kinetic sand provide pleasant tactile sensations.

We ensure … that the child does not put small parts in the mouth that could go wrong.

And also… in the bath, he is given cups to have fun pouring water, a small bottle to fill it, to practice opening and closing the cap…

Games from 3 years old: Playing architects

To do what ? To develop attention and concentration, key elements for his education and his future life, we move on to construction games: we make a tower with rolls of toilet paper or cubes …

We ensure … not be too demanding. No need to throw your little one into building overly complicated structures.

And also… Since children like to imitate their parents, we can also teach them the pleasures of cleaning and tidying up. What to channel them because to pass the dust cloth, the broom or the vacuum cleaner, they adore!

Activities from 4 years old: Counting is fun

To do what ? Counting on your fingers, counting, locating and memorizing the figures, it’s so easy with three times nothing! To the tune of the rhyme “1, 2, 3, we will go to the woods”, counting everything the child sees (the fruits and vegetables bought at the supermarket, the books in his library, the cars in the parking lot). school), counting becomes child’s play.

We ensure … always name all the numbers around you to help it acquire: the number of houses, the people before us at the doctor, the date …

And also… sorting the beads or making a pearl necklace is another way to learn numbers. Unless you prefer to trace them with your finger in the sand or flour or to make small shortbread in the shape of numbers …

Games from 4-5 years old: Long live cooperative games!

To do what ? Offering a game (of board) is a good start to learn the rules, manage their impulsiveness (each in turn), their frustrations and to team up with other players in respect and mutual aid, while developing their skills. self-confidence. No big stakes with cooperative games because the players are all allies and win or lose together. The game of solidarity musical chairs where no one is eliminated despite the removal of the chairs will push the child to sit on the knees of his friends and to share the chairs. 

We ensure … for board games, we specifically respect their age group otherwise, beware of boredom!

And also… There are a good number of junior versions of classic games (Cluedo Junior, Destin Junior…) for which the rules have been simplified and the playing time shortened.

Activity at 6-7 years old: Create a herbarium

To do what ? We will pick flowers and collect leaves, we dry them and then we create the herbarium. It is already a good exercise of observation and patience! And the opportunity to solicit his creativity and dexterity while making children aware of respect for nature. He creates, manipulates, glues, draws, perforates, writes… and stays focused. 

We ensure… Do not pick rare, protected or poisonous plants. For that, we use the “PictureThis” app.

And also… if he has an aesthetic touch, he can also place his dried leaves under a frame, the covers of his school books …

Games and activities for 8-9 years old: Playing strategists

To do what ? Engaging in games of deduction, strategy and competition or balance (Kapla, Jenga …) requires fine manipulation and allows to design complex figures and structures, to follow plans … the attention and concentration of the child are targeted. 

We ensure … make your constraints more complex with puzzle games, timed to test your resistance to frustration!

And also… Some games haven’t aged a bit. Power 4 allows you to thwart your opponent’s strategies and trick to win, Monopoly, Junior or not, or the Good Pay allows you to learn to count tickets and move from square to square.

We cultivate our sense of humor! A character trait that needs to be worked on!

Games for 9-10 years old: Mime and word games

To do what ? To assert your sense of humor. This real asset in life allows you to seduce your audience and get out of complicated situations with a smile. If the family atmosphere has a lot to do with it, this character trait can also be worked on. By promoting mime games and word games, by taking up funny challenges as a team, by performing magic tricks, by inventing your own jokes …,

We ensure … well set the limits of what is funny and what is in the order of mockery.

And also… there are books of riddles and jokes (“365 poilantes jokes”, ed. Play Bac) and party games to learn to have fun while playing (“Le Prince de Motordu”, ed. Nathan) allowing to play on words.

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