When our daughter was younger, we played lots of board games. Over the years, the games changed as we moved from CandyLand (one of the happiest days of my life!) to Monopoly to the challenging family and friend games my husband now invents. I also began to realize these days and nights of game playing helped us teach and reinforce many lessons on godly behavior.
The great thing about board games is that you can often find them at yard sales for a couple of dollars. Many families may be willing to give or loan you some of their old board games. In fact, some older versions of games are an interesting look back at how popular culture has changed over the decades. You can also create your own games with some poster board or your computer.
Once you have your board games, what lessons can your kids learn from them about how God wants them to live their lives?
If your young child attends Sunday School, you have probably seen jigsaw puzzles depicting various stories in the Bible. There are a lot of other ways to use almost any jigsaw puzzle to teach your kids about God, His principles and/or His commands.
We tend to think there are basically two kinds of kids – “good” kids and kids who can’t seem to obey or control their behavior. While we all know that is a little too simplistic, what concerns me is that there is a type of child who is in a lot of danger, but often goes unnoticed until it is too late.
With the amount of constant conflict in our society, it’s no surprise our children believe they can say whatever comes into their heads to anyone at any time. “Good” kids probably won’t say things that will have them labeled as bullies, but often the things they say (which in their minds are smart and funny) are actually very rude and disrespectful.