Board Games

the sooner you start playing board games the better. my kids all still love halabaloo, it's like simon says, very simple even for toddlers, we also still play a lot of candy land and shutes and ladders, don't break the ice, ants in my pants, hungry hungry hippos, and darn it i can't recall the name, but you pull out colored sticks and hope the monkeys don't fall. memory is good and there is a whole line of games made for young children now that are meant to teach manners and such and they look really neat.

1 mom found this helpful

Don't break the ice. You'll have to set it up, a two year won't be able to do it, but he'll have fun hammering the cubes. My son also liked the Cootie game at around 2 1/2. It was a good one to teach taking turns and following directions.

1 mom found this helpful

Maybe the Uno Moo Farm Animals game. A 2 year old probably won't play exactly according to rules, but it's a fun way to learn to match!

Also, the Candy Land Castle Game. It's also another matching game. This is the new game, not the traditional Candy Land board game w/ cards. It has different colored plastic shapes that you match on your own gingerbread man board.

1 mom found this helpful

Candyland, if your child can identify colors, but don't expect him to play for very long at a time. Wooden puzzles, building blocks, and flash cards with pictures may be more age-appropriate.

1 mom found this helpful

Well, with a 2 year old, there has to be supervision with any board game... we have one that is fun called "Wheels on the Bus"

more good ones...

Hold the Phone
Snackin' Safari
Gnip Gnop
Hot Potato (not really a board game but fun for everyone!)

All my kids started playing board games around their 2nd birthday. Of course, we often modified the rules and were more flexible to make them more age appropriate. Or they'd sit next to an adult or older sibling and 'help' them by moving pieces, drawing cards, etc. This got them used to the idea of taking turns in a game.

My youngest is 2.5. Her current favorite games are Memory (we don't use every card - we use about half the cards to make it easier for her), Chutes & Ladders, CandyLand, Guess Who and Zingo. She'll often partner with someone when we play Rummikub, Uno or Phase10 and is actually getting good at finding runs and such. Last night my 7 year old taught my 4 year old how to play Risk and the 2 year old was right there listening and attempting to play with them.

There are tons of games out there today marketed for toddlers. Just be sure they are open ended and actually force the child to use their brain - too many are close ended and 'dumbed down' for kids, which is insulting. As many others have said, games are essential for kids to play because they teach many social skills -- losing and winning gracefully, taking turns, thinking 2+ steps ahead, math, reading, etc.

Two years old is usually a little young. Most games are recommended for age 3 and older due to small parts and choking hazzards.

I loved Candy Land, Cootie, and Memory Match.

Cooties! It's actually for 3 and up, but I know I used to play it as a very small tot. The makers of Cooties have a line of games for children.

Memory and Candy Land are great first games, although they would need to be modified rule-wise for a very young child. I've found that the German company, HABA, makes exceptional games and toys for young children. Most are made with safe materials, like wood and safe paints. The first board game my son ever caught on to is called "My First Orchard". You can order it from Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/Haba-My-First-Orchard/dp/B003FHLYU0.... You can look up HABA on Amazon and find other games for young children, but the Orchard game is a great beginner game because it teaches children colors, taking turns, and it's cooperative. There is no single winner or loser. Everyone works together to beat the raven in the game. I highly recommend it even for a 2 year old, because a child that young can start learning to share, taking turns, and working on colors. Hope that helps! (My husband and I are big board gamers, and we're so thrilled that our son is becoming a little gamer, too.)

Candy Land and Chutes and Ladders. HOWEVER, they obviously have to know their numbers FIRST so that they can count the dots on the die and move so many spaces. We started both of those at two - AFTER she knew her numbers. master those first.

There is ALSO a Strawberry Shortcake game that would be fine, too, again, if they know their numbers.

Max the Cat. It's a wonderful game. Look up "Funagain games, Max." You can buy it really cheap online.

My daughter also loves cariboo. She is 2.5 and doesn't completely get the taking turns and only wants to open the red doors. She also won't let me get my own balls when we find them behind the doors, but she loves the game and gets so excited everytime she finds a ball and when the treasure opens. (Probably doesn't make sense unless you've seen the game, but if you look at it, it will.)

One game my son loved, and he didn't play it the "right way" at first was Hisss: http://www.amazon.com/Gamewright-5219-Hisss-Card-Game/dp/...

Candyland is great. Sorry! is good to help teach counting.

One game my son got when he was 2ish was a card game, we didn't play it the way it was supposed to be played at first...we just sorted. We sorted by colour, or shape, or number, depending on the day and the level of interest. As he got older, we played it the was it was prescribed. it is called Blink!
http://www.amazon.com/Out-of-the-Box-Blink/dp/B00005JSA5/...

You can really take any board game, and adjust it and make your own rules if you like.

Hi Ho Cherry-O
Don't Wake Daddy

My son is two and he understands that we are playing games. He might not play them "right" but I really think it's helping him learn to take turns and be patient.

Anyhoo, we have a regular memory game and a Goodnight Moon version that I really like. It comes with several sets of instructions for different ages. For the youngest, you cooperate to match up the picture cards with a larger picture and everybody wins.

its pretty young. Discovery toys (I am not a dealer lol) has a couple that are for the very young. they have hard board book type pc's. but other than that don't really know any.