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116 votes
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Should you play games with a toddler that they're very good at and always win?

If the child really enjoys the game, what you need to do is not making him stop playing it. Teaching kids that they're not supposed to win at things, or play things they are good at, is just as bad as ...
Erik's user avatar
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87 votes
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Is a Rubik's cube an appropriate gift for a 15-month-old child?

At 15 months old, a rubik's cube would not be appropriate. First, it's kind of a complex puzzle. Most adults can't solve it. A 15 month old is going to see it as a brightly colored cube and nothing ...
Becuzz's user avatar
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59 votes

Why is technology bad for children?

First, setting some baselines. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends limited, but not zero, screen time for most children above 2. Under 2, and in particular under 18 months, no screen time ...
Joe's user avatar
  • 61.8k
53 votes

Is a Rubik's cube an appropriate gift for a 15-month-old child?

I would not recommend this as a toy, but for a different reason. As a brightly colored geometric shape a Rubik's cube would probably be appealing to small children, and at that age they will likely ...
barbecue's user avatar
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28 votes

Is a Rubik's cube an appropriate gift for a 15-month-old child?

There are huge soft 2x2 rubik's cubes for toddlers. Like this one: Jumbo 12157 - Rubik's Baby - My first Cube, Kleinkindspielzeug They are soft and not easily breakable. There is a youtuber called "...
Pudora's user avatar
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24 votes

Should I intentionally lose a game to make my daughter happy?

My experience with this (and a 7 and 5 year old child) is that you should not let the child win, but rather adjust the scenario so that the child can win. This ensures there is still a sense of ...
Joe's user avatar
  • 61.8k
18 votes

Should you play games with a toddler that they're very good at and always win?

I would suggest teaching the child the concept of handicapping. An approach I've found helpful with some other games is to say that every time someone wins, they have to start with one more card [or ...
supercat's user avatar
  • 281
16 votes

Why is technology bad for children?

There is this German psychiatrist, Prof. Manfred Spitzer, who aggregates research with regards to children and digital device usage, and, inspired by the findings, has written a book of how, he claims,...
sktpin's user avatar
  • 261
14 votes

Should you play games with a toddler that they're very good at and always win?

I have also noticed that young children are remarkably good at Memory games, although 95% of wins against adults is very impressive. A small trick (beside concentration) can improve your results ...
Evargalo's user avatar
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14 votes
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How to choose a game for a 3 year-old child?

One reason it's hard to use age indicators to chose an appropriate game for very young children is that their development at that age is so rapid. If you think of the capabilities of a child on their ...
Meg's user avatar
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9 votes

How to help a 9-year-old boy learn to handle losing at games/sports?

"Winner Cleans Up" has been a surprisingly effective rule for us. Whoever wins needs to put away the cards/board/ball etc. That takes some of the sting out for the loser and really cuts down on ...
Hilmar's user avatar
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9 votes

Should I intentionally lose a game to make my daughter happy?

On average, kids need to win about 1 in 3 times in order to stay interested in a game. They must win fairly, not by default. It sounds like she is well on her way to becoming a ranked player - she is ...
pojo-guy's user avatar
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8 votes

Is a Rubik's cube an appropriate gift for a 15-month-old child?

No, at 15 months this doesn't make sense. I'd recommend a book with little flaps that show pictures underneath. These are fun for kids that age. Pick a book that shows colors, numbers, animals, etc. ...
TomEberhard's user avatar
6 votes

What are the non stimulating games that can be played before bedtime to keep the kid engaged?

Other than reading, these ideas might help. If you Google calming games for young children You'll find many ideas -- like these. Here is how to make your own sensory bottles Calming scents like ...
WRX's user avatar
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6 votes

Should I intentionally lose a game to make my daughter happy?

Tell her you miss playing Chess with her, which you obviously do, and offer to teach her some new strategies while you play. You might have to give up some of your key moves, but your games would take ...
elbrant's user avatar
  • 1,489
5 votes

What age should you start enforcing board game rules?

What a great opportunity to teach communication and compromise. I would separate the kids into those who want to play by the rules and those who want to create their own game. Or play with official ...
Rob Elliott's user avatar
5 votes
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How to keep a 2 year old toddler entertained throughout the day?

You should not feel that you have to be supplying all of her entertainment. Between daycare and the home life you have described it sounds like your daughter never has to find her own entertainment. ...
Ruralife's user avatar
  • 475
5 votes

How to help a 9-year-old boy learn to handle losing at games/sports?

Try to find cooperative games (Red October, Forbidden Island for examples) or purely random games. In the first case, everyone lose or win together. In the second case, win or loss are purely ...
MakorDal's user avatar
  • 1,892
5 votes

How to teach my son that winning is not everything and to lose graciously? My son cries when he loses and quits playing the game

It's quite normal. Don't worry about it and concentrate on the process of playing the game, and if he wins point out what he did well and could have improved on (in that order) and exactly the same if ...
David Boshton's user avatar
5 votes

Why is technology bad for children?

It's not that technology itself is bad for children, but, if not content-regulated, it can serve inappropriate content (think 4chan) and, if not time-regulated, it can take time away from learning ...
520's user avatar
  • 159
5 votes

How to choose a game for a 3 year-old child?

First off, the "age rating" on the box is sometimes, but not always, useful. Sometimes it is related to what kinds of testing they have done; many games have fairly high ratings (13+) due ...
Joe's user avatar
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5 votes
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Five Year old structured playing

I don't know if what you describe is normal for your child's age, and I would beware of any advice you get on the internet about "normal" diagnosis based on the online post. I recommend ...
Timur Shtatland's user avatar
4 votes

How to teach my son that winning is not everything and to lose graciously? My son cries when he loses and quits playing the game

I have two kids with this problem, and one kid with the opposite problem: he doesn't care enough about winning to learn to play better. You don't want that problem either. For one of the kids who ...
Warren Dew's user avatar
  • 2,643
4 votes

How to keep a 2 year old toddler entertained throughout the day?

Tv is not an answer. At this age the amount of TV should be very, very limited - 1 to 2 hours according to American Academy of Pediatrics - but I'd say that 1h is absolute maximum, seeing how my girl ...
Dariusz's user avatar
  • 10k
4 votes

Should you play games with a toddler that they're very good at and always win?

He's good at it, so make the game more difficult to grow that part of his brain. He'll still beat you, but he'll like the challenge. Find a bigger set with more pairs, or different symbols, or both. ...
mephisto's user avatar
4 votes

Should I intentionally lose a game to make my daughter happy?

There is a middle ground between "letting your kid win" and "giving it all you've got". Let me make an analogy to basketball. If I go outside and play basketball against an 8 year old, just based on ...
Kevin's user avatar
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4 votes

Should I intentionally lose a game to make my daughter happy?

It's been a long time since the question was posted, but just in case this is useful to anyone: Very interesting question! I have no parenting experience nor any intention to have it soon (by the way....
David's user avatar
  • 230
4 votes

Why is technology bad for children?

There is nothing inherently wrong about technology. We use it all the time, for all sorts of reason. Problems can come when interactions with technology (call it TV, Internet, or whatever) when they ...
David's user avatar
  • 230
4 votes

How to explain an online scary story to a 7 year old boy?

You should resolve the "Entity 303"-specific issue first and only then face the more general problem of him believing to everything on YouTube. I was personally involved in a similar ...
Nicholas Obert's user avatar

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