How card games can benefit your child

For those who are in the same era as I may remember these card games: Happy Family, Snap, Old Maid, and Donkey. Yeah, the famous 4 card games that we always play to entertain ourselves when we were young.

Nowadays you rarely see kids playing these anymore. Now, the “IN” card game that the kids play is Pokémon Trading Card Game! It is a collectible card game that is based on the Pokémon video game series, first published in October 1996 by Media Factory in Japan. It used to be very popular but it died down for a period but because of the Pokémon Go mobile game, the game is revived!

We didn’t know about this weekly gathering event till a friend told us and we went during one of the weekends where a shop conducts different types of weekly mini card tournament for different card enthusiasts. We headed off for the Pokémon Trading Card Game and smarties (actually gor gor was the interested party while mei mei wanted to go kay-poh aka busybody) couldn’t wait to participate. We were the first few to arrive and smarties were busy exploring the area. There was a box of Pokémon Trading Cards displayed on the registration table where they allowed players to select the cards they like for purchase.

Smarties were fascinated by the wide varieties of cards available there. 

More people started streaming in and the registration began where their names and age were taken into consideration so that the organizer able to find suitable opponents for each participant. After registration, each participant was given, yes free,  a pack of cards to start practicing before the game begins. Their cards were so cool! Even I was impressed by that.

Gor gor couldn’t wait and started practicing with his friend once they got the pack of cards. As this was his first time, he wasn’t sure how it was played. His friend was very nice to guide him along the way.

The friendly staff was also available for the children to ask questions and to guide the participants too. Very soon the tournament began and gor gor was very focused on his game. Although he didn’t win all the rounds, the few rounds that he won gave him a sense of progression, mini achievements and best of all feeling good. So why do I allow him to play cards? Because it trains his concentration and memory. They have to analyze and strategize how they are going to play in order to beat the opponent.

Just love the sight of kids looking so focused on what they are doing and paying full attention to it. Although is a Pokémon Trading Card Game and nothing related to academic work but this game alone has numerous benefits. It teaches them:
– being patient and taking turns
– being a good sportsmanship (there’s always win and lose, the child will need to learn how to handle both situations)
– strategising his moves while learning about statistics and probabilities
– social skills where it gives you a chance to interact with others in a little friendly match
– following the rules of the game

We love card games because it is such a good old-fashioned fun, inexpensive and is so highly portable. You may not see them perspiring but they are exercising their minds a lot while improving their fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination. When we travel, we bring along card games to play together as it also helps in building family bonding time.

Do you play cards with your kids? If not, with so many benefits of a card game, are you going to start soon?