Life lessons from playing games

I have discovered something important about the state of the world today: There is plenty to learn about life from games played during family time.

We read constantly in the news about kids and even young adults who whine, complain, are self-centered and have no compassion or caring toward others.

I've figured out why this has happened.

It all comes down to board games.Kids have not been properly taught to play board games. I love board games and card games and grew up with them being a central part of family entertainment.

What I Learned from Playing Games

I learned how to play fairly, how to pay attention to what's going on, how to understand rules of play, how to be a graceful loser AND winner, how not to sulk when things don't go my way, how not to gloat when they do, and how to wait my turn.

In short, through playing games I learned that the world doesn't revolve around me and my personal whims.

I learned that someone has to go first and it won't always be me.

I learned that someone has to win and it won't always be me.

From playing Clue I learned to think well before I speak.

From Monopoly, I learned that, well, I really don't like Monopoly - but it's important to manage your money well.

Twister taught me the importance of flexibility while Go Fish instilled that a goal and a strategy is important to follow.

From playing Old Maid I learned that someone must end up with the Old Maid - and it doesn't mean you're a bad person if you do!

The lesson from Battleship? I learned not to gloat when someone else's ship sinks.

From Checkers and Chess I learned to value each and every piece of life because none are insignificant.

From every game I played, I learned over and over again that it doesn't matter if another player cheats - that doesn't make it okay for me to cheat also. I also learned how to lose and that whining and throwing a fit when things don't go my way gets me nowhere. I learned it is better to learn from the loss and try to do better next time.

Different Lessons From Playing Games Today?

Today, most kids play video games against a computer instead of a board game or card game against a sibling or friend. When they are losing, they can simply hit restart. If they get to a part that is too hard, they go online and find cheat codes so they can skip the hard parts.

When I played games with my brother, we didn't play "do overs." You played with the cards or game pieces you were dealt and you made the best of it.

When you played a game, you paid attention to it. My kids are wont to go do something else while waiting for their turn (like read a book or turn on the TV), but I won't allow it. I tell them it is important to pay atttention to what the others are doing instead of only focusing on themselves and their turn.

In life, you can't change the rules to suit you, or ignore something important and expect things to go your way - and I learned that from playing games.

I think it's time that parents turned off the television and the video games, grabbed some board games and played more with their children.

Life lessons will be learned and taught during the playing!

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