My kids and I play board or card games regu!arly still. There are many reasons we do. The first is that it is one big of time without tech where we look at each other (it is good to know what we look like in case we have to give descriptions) and talk out loud. Eye contact can never be underplayed. It is vital to good social connections. And bnoard games are fun. They are a nice break from everything else just to enter a mutually agreed upon world of competition and maybe a little make believe. I mean playing pieces are people, getting to a the finish carrot is important, etc. It is a shared time and place and experience. Thirdly, it teaches kids that someone always wins. In life nowadays where every kid gets a trophy and everyone is a winner is the stupidest thing on earth. I lived in the corporate world for a while and in medicine and in life and someone always is the winner and you lose a lot. And that is a good thing because there is nobility in being happy for someone else’s success and motivating you to maybe go for the gold next time. Also, you sincerely learn more from losing. Maybe you learn you don’t like it, maybe that there are things you could do differently, maybe humility, maybe that participation has its own rewards, whatever. Board games build relationships and fosters connections in a fun way. Worth stopping what you are doing for a bit and invest in each other.
Tonya LaLonde 