11 Games to Play with Your Child

By Willow Breckenridge | Feb 23, 2022

Are you looking for more games to play with your child? Maybe you’d like to have some go-to activities if you’re stuck in traffic or waiting in line. Perhaps you’d like your children to exercise more, so you’re looking for more active ways to play.

Look no further! Here are 11 games to play with your child.

Anytime Games

These games are perfect for playing while you’re in the car, waiting in the doctor’s office or while stuck in line. The following games are relatively quiet and require no materials.

1.  I Spy

This game is the standard of long car rides or boring shopping trips. To play, simply state, “I spy with my little eye” and a color. Then let the fun commence. If you have multiple children, they should play this together without your help, but it’s fun to play as an entire family.

2.  The Telephone Game

The Telephone Game is perfect for bigger families. Have one child whisper a phrase to a player, who then whispers it to another. The game continues until the words have been shared with all family members. The last family member then says the phrase out loud. Usually, the result is quite different from the beginning phrase.

There’s a variation of The Telephone Game you can play that involves drawing rather than speaking your phrase. However, it requires materials, so you’ll need to travel prepared or play it during a family game night.

3.  Grandma’s House

This game starts with a player saying the phrase, “I’m going to grandma’s house, and I’m bringing an…” and ends the sentence with something that starts with the letter A. The next player repeats the phrase and says something with the letter B. The game continues throughout the entire alphabet. It’s a great way to help your children practice their A, B, C’s and be creative.

4.  The Celebrity Game

Have one player think of a famous person or character from a book or movie. The other players must ask questions to determine who the celebrity is. Consider limiting the game to twenty questions to make it more challenging.

Active Games

Get your kids moving indoors or outdoors with these active games.

5.  Hopscotch

You’ll need to bust out the sidewalk chalk and start making and numbering boxes to play hopscotch. Player one will toss a rock into the first square and hop through the entire course, taking care not to bounce in the box with their marker. They continue their turn, advancing their marker to the next box as long as they don’t toss their marker out of bounds or step on a line.

6.  Sardines

Sardines is a great game to play indoors or out. Essentially, Sardines is the opposite of hide-and-seek–one player hides while the rest seek. As seekers search for the hider and eventually find the player, they join the hiding place until all seekers have found the hider. The last to discover the hider becomes next to hide. 

7.  Egg and Spoon Race

The Egg and Spoon Race is an outdoor activity, and it will absolutely keep your child entertained. All you’ll need is enough eggs and spoons for your children. Have your kids start at one end of the yard and finish at the other. They’ll need to balance their eggs on a spoon the entire distance. The one who finishes first wins.

Depending on your kid’s ages, you can consider hard boiling the eggs, so there’s less mess to clean up and less frustration for your children. If you wish to forgo eggs entirely, you can also try potatoes and still achieve the same fun of the race. 

8.  Obstacle Course

Obstacle courses are another fun activity indoors or outdoors. If it’s a rainy day and you’re stuck inside, you can build a course with your child out of pillow cushions and blankets. Outdoors you can set up hula hoops, put down a ladder, and fill up a kiddie pool for a homemade obstacle course to keep your little one busy. 

Pretend Play Games

Engage your child’s imagination during these fun opportunities playing together.

9.  Dress Up

Create a chest or drawer for your child with unique clothes, accessories and costumes. Encourage your child to dress up and create characters to accompany the outfits. Together, with a bit of imagination, you can have a lot of fun.

10.       Puppet Theater

Make sock puppets with your child and put on puppet shows re-enacting fairy tales, favorite books or TV shows. As children get older, they can use their imagination to create their own stories.

11.       Role-Playing

Role-playing is a fantastic way for children to develop empathy and unpack fears about new experiences like starting school or going to the doctor. It’s also a fun way for them to play with a parent. When role-playing with your child, follow their lead to let their imagination soar.

The Perfect Game for Your Kiddo

What game will you choose? Whatever the opportunity, you’ll be ready with the perfect activity!

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