The Best Games for Preschoolers

Preschoolers are old enough that most will be able to begin playing games. Three and four-year-olds aren't ready yet for very long or complicated games yet, but they can begin playing board games. Playing games together can be a lot of fun, and can help both their fine motor skills and development as well.

Here are some of the best games for preschoolers.

Twister

Twister is a lot of fun. It can reinforce your child's knowledge of colours, help them learn left and right, and is good for their balance and coordination. Because it is such an active, fun game, they might stick with it longer than with a traditional board game. It's also a good game if you have older children, because groups of mixed ages can play well together. You can get the standard twister game, or a lot of variations on it, like giant boards or Twister boards printed on towels and bedspreads.

Candyland

This basic board game is based on colour cards, rather than dice, so even children that aren't confident on counting can play. If you want to help them learn, you can let them pull the colour, and then count how many spaces they get to move ahead. Preschoolers enjoy being able to play this game because it is simple enough for them to play on their own and understand. You can buy the traditional board , or new versions with popular characters like Dora the Explorer.

Go Fish

Go Fish is the perfect first card game. It is simple, but fun, and your preschooler will feel very grown up playing it with you. You can either use cards from a deck of cards (in which case they need to be able to recognize numbers-to simplify it, don't use the whole deck at first) or buy a specific Go Fish game (these often use pictures and/or colours and/or numbers so that they are more easily adaptable to children of different ages and abilities). For an even more exciting variation, you can get the Fisher Price Go Fish game in which you actually go fishing for the cards.

Other good games for preschoolers include: Winnie the Pooh's Honey Bee Tree, magnetic fishing games, Hungry Hungry Hippos, and Elufun. There are loads of games out there, though, so have a look for yourself, or think about how you could adapt games you already have for them.

You know your child and their interests and abilities better than anyone. Trying to force a child to play a game when they're not ready or interested will just be stressful for everyone. Use your judgement as a parent. Also, picking the right time to play is important. Try to play a game at a time when your child is not too tired or hungry, and there are as few distractions as possible. Start by just playing for a few minutes at a time. If you try playing a game and they don't stick with it, wait a couple of weeks and then try again.