Bring Back Old School Games and Activities for Kids

It seems like today’s kids don’t know how good they’ve got it. The digital world is at their fingertips and they have access to endless amounts of gaming technology. At the click of a button a whole world of fun opens up before them and they can chat to friends online while they play cooperatively. They play in world’s we never could have dreamed of but it begs the question…

Is something missing?

Kick It Old School

Remember staying out until dark playing with neighbourhood kids, making up your own rules? Remember getting lost on your bike and wondering how you’d ever get home? Remember climbing trees, planting vegetable gardens, building bird’s nests, chalking on the streets and generally running amok? Old school games had it ALL. They made us who we are today and helped to forge lifelong friendships.

So why not bring a little of that back into our kids’ lives and see what happens?

Letting Go of the Reigns

Old school games mean that we need to relinquish some of the control and let our kids be just that – kids. It means opening up our homes to neighbourhood kids and letting our own children roam freely. This can be difficult when everything in our parenting instincts tells us to squeeze them tightly and never let go but there’s so much joy in letting kids be kids. It increases their levels of social ability, encourages creative play and helps them to be the bosses of their own little worlds.

So What Can They Play?

There are the classics listed above but the sky’s the limit! You can introduce board games, card games and hopscotch into daily play routines. Get the kids to make a bamboo bow and arrow set and see what fun they’ll have (this necessitates a quick trip to Bunnings which, let’s face it, is never a wasted trip). Help them gather materials to build a cubby house and see what they can create. Encourage them to make up songs and plays and to perform them for the parents (you may need to squeak in the earplugs potentially on this one).

The Benefits of Old School Games

Pulling kids away from screens means that they’re engaging with the world around them. They’re more social, more creative and will eventually build more resilience as they try to figure things out for themselves instead of having all the answers just handed to them.

These old school activities for kids are the things that precious memories are made of. Cherish, encourage and learn alongside them. And get on that hopscotch course and have some fun!