One of our mom readers wrote to us that she was frustrated with the boredom her kids experience when they visit their grandparents. All grandparents are different and do not interact the same with the kids. I know my in-laws are not ‘get down on the floor and play’ kind of grandparents, they are more of the ‘take out to lunch and a movie’ grandparents, where my mom will get on the floor and play games. So how can she help her in-laws be more active with the kids, and the prevent the kids from feeling so bored they never want to go there? Suggest to the in-laws that they teach the kids some of the games they used to play as kids! Here are a few ideas for games for grandparents to teach kids!
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Games for Grandparents to Teach Kids
Build a fort:
Kids love forts! My living room has been overtaken by makeshift forts lately. Grandpa can even get in no the fun with this one! We know Grandma has lots of sheets (if she will just part with them for a few hours, she can starch them again later). Take the couch cushions off, grab some of those sheets and maybe a couple chairs from the kitchen and get to creating! Once it is made, sit on the floor in the fort and read some stories, or look at old photo albums or tell some of your own stories to the kiddies.
Blind Man’s Bluff:
This one is simple, but make sure you stash away the valuables before playing! This one is meant for both Gram and Gramps too. Blindfold one person and turn around 5 times in place, during this time, the other 2 (or more) players try to find a good place to hide. When the 5 turns are complete, that person says ‘Stop!’ and everyone freezes in place. Still blindfolded, he must find everyone. You can distract the blindfolded person by making misleading noises, but you can not move your feet. You can dodge them all you want by ducking in place and leaning from side to side, but don’t move your feet! Once everyone is discovered, the next person is blindfolded.
Checkers:
I am sure there is a version of this on your iPad or tablet, but ditch that for the real thing at Grandma’s. Grandparents love board games (at least the ones I know do). It is a game of strategy, and with the amount of years Grandma has on you, she can probably teach you a thing or two. My grandparents have a huge version of this, using over-sized pieces and the ‘board’ is a rug. It was super fun to play when we went up to the log cabin for a long weekend!
Related: 10 Activities Kids Can Do With Grandparents
Hot and Cold:
I remember playing this as a kid! Grandma and Grandpa should have no problem playing this one with the little humans! They don’t even have to get up or hide anything. You can play this one just sitting in the living room. For the lazy-man’s version, stick to one room and just simply pick an item in that room (just in your mind). Then the person guessing, must get up and walk around the room, being steered in the right direction by the ‘hot’ and ‘cold’ directions given by the other person. You can make this game a bit more fun by hiding an object in the house (using the entire house!) and having the other person find it.
I can completely understand kids feeling bored at Grandma’s, sometimes they just don’t know what to do with the kids that is fun. Especially in this day and age where technology has a huge influence on daily life, maybe they just can’t relate. Put away the tablets and phones and get down to some good old fashion game playing!
really great ideas and games, thank you
These are great ideas! My mom isn’t one of those ‘get down on the floor and play’ kind of grandmas, but she does like to spend time with my daughters and loves playing games like bingo with them.
My parents love spending time with their grandchildren. I know they would enjoy playing these games with them too.
I’ve never played the Blind Man’s Bluff before. It sounds like a fun game. I’ll have to remember that for recreation activity with 4-H
I wish I had kids so my parents could do all these fun things with them. They are essentials skills all children need to know how to do.
There are so many great board games for kids and grandparents to enjoy together!
I used to play many of these when I was little, and I hope my parents play them with my son in the future too!
Card games are always fun and depending on the age of the grand children I bet Gram and Gramps have a slew of them up their sleeves!
I’d go for the fort every time LOL That’s one of my favorite childhood memories!
Don’t forget tic-tac-toe! That’s one of the first games I ever played with my grandparents.
Wow, remember playing checkers with my Pop. Simple things are often the most fun.
Checkers! I remember my grand dad teaching me checkers and I ended up loving it in the end. These are fun games that will really build a bond between kids and grandparents.
Ahhh. Love new stuff to do with grandkids. So much fun
Now something for me to do with my granddaughter!!! Thank you so much!!!
And, these are the reasons why kids always love their grandparents :)
Building forts have always been one of my favorite activities with my grandparents. No 2 forts are ever the same. I enjoyed how we made themes for our forts.
My son loves playing games with his grandparents. I’m not sure they’ve tried the Hot and cold one before, so I’ll let them know. Thanks for sharing!