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It’s 6 o’clock in the evening, your little one wants to watch that cartoon that they just
love (and you dread). You just want them to do something a little more productive.
What is Doreamon or Peppa Pig going to teach them any brain games in the grand
scheme of things?
So, to keep them distracted, you attempt a “Hey, why don’t we read this book?” that
results in an utter look of disgust on your child’s face and undue defeat on yours.
Well, what if there is a way to fix this problem? What is the solution to make learning
and brain development fun? We have the answers to help you!
There are a variety of games and activities that will ​keep them away from screens​,
help develop their thinking, all while keeping them entertained and their minds
stimulated: brain games!
Child’s play is an integral part of development. Children do not play just to entertain
themselves. From the time they are born, they are constantly learning. When your
infant reaches out to you to get the soft toy, they are learning.
They just learned that they can stretch their arm out to touch the toy. They learned
that they reach out with their arms to get that toy. Learning and development are
constantly happening, but it’s our duty to enable that learning with positive
reinforcements.
There are various skills acquired while playing brain games for kids.
● Analytical Thinking
● Comprehension
● Spatial Awareness
● Conceptual Learning
● Lateral and Critical Thinking
● Creativity
● Problem-Solving
● Linguistic enhancement and so much more!
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Here is a list of 12 awesome brain developing games for you

to play with your child:

1) Blocks – Build it up!

Best suited for children between the ages of
2-4
Blocks have been the most basic brain games
for kids since the beginning of time and have
remained a constant in the ‘toy-sphere’ — and
there’s a good reason why.
Expose your child to blocks of different colours
and sizes — and that’s it! Let your child explore
the blocks and let their imagination run wild.
All aspects of your child’s development are exposed including shape/
colour recognition, ​creativity​, spatial awareness, and so much more.

You can start off with basic colour and shape blocks for younger children and then
upgrade to Legos or abstract building blocks for older children.
Create simple patterns with blocks, have your toddler try to copy the patterns. This
is a simple way to help your child observe patterns.

Blocks have been the most basic brain games for

kids since the beginning of time.
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2) I spy games – I spy… brain games for kids

Best suited for children between the ages of 5-12

Classic games such as ‘I spy with my little eye…’, ‘Simon Says’ and scavenger
hunts are fun brain sharpening games.
These types of games help your children to follow instructions, enhance attention,
develop language​ and increases their spatial awareness. Books like “Where’s
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Waldo?” are great for children (and adults!), finding a targeted item in a cluttered
environment helps enhance your child’s cognitive systems.
Scavenger hunts can be easily customized and can keep your children occupied for
hours!
Here’s an example of a themed scavenger hunt:

Nature Scavenger Hunt

Find the following items!
● A flower
● 3 rocks
● Water
● Green leaf
● Brown leaf
● Grass
● A pink flower

3) Puzzles – Brain Teaser!

Best suited for children between the ages
of 2-12

Puzzles can be fun for the whole family! They

are a great way to develop your child’s spatial
perception, coordination, problem-solving,
cognitive skills and fine motor skills— proving
puzzles to be an awesome brain development
activity.
There are many different kinds of puzzles to
choose from: tangrams and board puzzles for
younger children, and older children (and adults) can indulge in scrabble, sudoku,
crosswords, logic puzzles and even Rubik’s cubes! At any age, puzzles are sure-fire
brain teasers!
DIY puzzle idea:​ Line up ​popsicle sticks in a row​, stick a copy of a family
photograph on the popsicle sticks. Using a cutter, cut between the popsicle sticks.
Help your child line the popsicles and recreate the photograph.
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4) Obstacle Courses — Jump, skip, run and hop!

Best suited for children between the ages of 2-5
Obstacle courses are easy to set up brain games for kids. You can set one up right
in your living room.
Create simple obstacle courses using household supplies, increase the complexity
with creative obstacles for older kids.
Obstacle courses help enhance your child’s gross motor, visual perception, motor
planning, coordination, problem-solving, critical thinking and language skills.
There are so many versions of obstacle courses! Here are some items you can use
to create an obstacle course indoors: pillows, chairs, tables, cushions, sofa, tables,
storage boxes, string, paper, balls, hula hoops.
A typical obstacle course would include for you to do the following: something to
walk on, crawl under, crawl through, jump, throw, hop, solve a riddle, the
possibilities are endless!
You can adapt a simple obstacle course for older children by including ​puzzles and
riddles as obstacles to pass through!

5) Nesting and Stacking Toys – How

high can you stack?
Best suited for children between the ages
of 2-4
Don’t be fooled by the deceiving simplicity of
nesting and stacking toys. These toys are
pivotal to early learning development for
toddlers. Nesting toys, albeit very simple, pack
a punch as great brain boosters for toddlers.
The motion of stacking and nesting helps your
little one’s fine motor, spatial and visual
perception, balance, sequencing, pre-math skills, and coordination. Who would have
thought ​something so simple could be so beneficial?
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Tip:​ Start off with some basic ring stacking toys and upgrade to stacking toys which
include textures, prints or sizes. Nesting toys are the close cousin of stacking toys.
It’s important to keep a conversation going while your children play.
“What goes next?” “Does this fit into this cup?” “Why do you think that doesn’t fit
there?”

6) Removing Tape Game – Brain Booster!

Best suited for children between the ages of 2-4
Concentration is key while playing​ most games. It’s an important brain building
activity to develop on. But, children are so easily distracted. Here’s a fun brain
sharpening game for the little ones.
All it takes is some masking tape and a flat surface. Use this brain game to help
enhance your toddler’s concentration. Toddlers love feeling, scratching and pulling,
and this activity uses all of those actions!
Tip: ​On a flat surface, table or notebook, stick strips of masking tape. Make sure the
tapes overlap. Demonstrate to your toddler how to remove the tape one at a time by
scraping the ends with your fingernails.
Allow your toddler to explore and remove the tape themselves. You can add
different coloured tapes (insulation tapes) or textured craft tapes to add more
elements to the activity.
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7) Pretend Play Kits — Doctor,

doctor!
Best suited for children between the ages
of 2-6

Pretend play, role play or make-believe play is

a great brain development activity as it plays a
critical role in a child’s cognitive and social
development.
Pretend play helps develop a child’s language
skills, social and emotional skills, nurtures
their imagination and improves understanding
of the world around them.
Pretend play is a great time to put out some open-ended questions to your child and
stimulate their thought process​.

Pretend play is a great time to put out some

open-ended questions to your child.
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DIY idea:​ Repurpose some old shelves to create a ‘market’ area, upcycle cardboard
boxes to create washing machines, houses, forts, stove top, anything that your child
fancies. Don’t forget, it’s all pretend — so anything’s possible!

8) Improvisation Games — Improv this!

Best suited for children between the ages of 6-12

Improv games are the most fun brain boosting games! The benefits of improv
games are aplenty!
They help increase confidence, refine brainstorming abilities, improve learning and
observation, ​improve decision-making​ and spontaneity. Improv games are great for
the whole family, you can play them anywhere and at anytime.
Here’s a simple improv game you can play with the whole family:
‘One word story’
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Each person in the room helps narrate a story but one word at a time! Come up with
a quirky story title or theme and let the fun begin! Simplify the game by narrating the
story one sentence at a time instead of one word at a time.

9) Storytelling – Once upon a

time…
Best suited for children between the
ages of 6-12
Storytelling helps prompt a different brain
development compared to what children
gain when listening to a story or reading a
picture book.
Storytelling requires for your child to pay
attention and focus for a ​long period of
time​. They also help their memory, as they
have to keep track of the story characters,
sequence of events and what’s going to happen next.
Storytelling also helps develop your child’s language, vocabulary and confidence!
Each story requires for them to make connections and articulate them.
Children at the age of six are developing self confidence and independence; stories
are a great way for them to express their feelings and emotions in a positive
manner.
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Tip:​ Use a magazine as a story prompt. Pick a page with lots of elements, your child
will have to make up a story using the elements on that page.
Another fun prompt idea is to fill a jar with one liners: “the green monster in the
castle”, “the lost astronaut in the rocket”, “the ladybird with green spots”. The more
creative the prompts, the funnier the story!

10) Phonic Fun – Imaginary Traveller

Best suited for children between the ages of 6-12

This game is simple but so much fun! A simple brain exercising game that you can
play in the car, in the supermarket line or just when they are bored.
This activity helps your child (and you) to think quickly, ​develops communication​,
improves decision making skills and builds confidence.
Tip:​ Everyone playing takes turns to continue with consecutive letters of the
alphabet, and fill in the following I am going (blank) and I’m taking (blank).
For example, I am going to Aunt Anita’s house and I’m taking my apple. I am going
to Bombay and I’m taking the boat. I am going to the Circus and I’m taking the
clown. Make them as silly as you can to ensure maximum fun!

11) Memory Game – Elephants never forget!

Best suited for children between the ages of 5-12

Brain boosting memory games help improve memory in a fun and entertaining way.
Memory games help exercise your child’s brain, improve concentration, enhance
cognitive functionality, trains visual memory, boost focus and attention.
There are many variations of memory ​games you can play at home​: simple
matching activity for younger children, increase or decrease complexity by changing
the number of elements.
Get the picture is a fun game to play right at home! You start the game by saying,
“When we go to the beach we take…” “On the table there is…” all the participants of
the game take turns adding an element.
When one person says an object, the next person repeats that object and adds
another object. The idea is to repeat all the elements the person before you has
said. Keep the chain going till someone breaks the chain!
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12) Math Game: Mathematics + Brain Games = Fun!

Best suited for children between the ages of 5-12
A simple math game is great for helping children with their numeracy skills. Card
games are great for enhancing consolidated ​math skills​. Math brain games help
your child with number identification, counting, addition/subtraction, greater
than/lesser than and other basics of mathematics.

A simple math game is great for helping children with

their numeracy skills.
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So, here are two simple math brain games for kids:

Dice Wars

You will need dice and some counting elements (pebbles, buttons, seeds, etc).
You play the game by taking turns rolling dice and you count the number on the
dice.
The player with a higher number gets to steal a pebble or button from the other
player. The player who steals all the elements is the winner!
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I spy cards!
You will need a deck of cards with picture
cards removed. Deal all the cards in array
with number side up.
One player says “I spy with my little eye two
cards that add up to make ___”, and the
other player must find the two cards.
Once the cards are found, remove from the
set. Continue till all the cards are cleared.
Apart from all of these games,you can use
riddles and classic card games like Uno, Go
fish or even crosswords to get some brain
juices churning.
Also, children enjoy creating games of their own. Maybe they’d like to play
‘Imaginary Traveller’ with a twist, so allow your child to explore and express
themselves freely.
So, the next time your child says they’re bored— just play a game! You have 12
awesome brain games and ideas to chose from.

Hope you liked all these interesting games . ​Don’t forget to share about these
games with your friends & relatives with kids.