I don’t know about your kids, but mine do not like waiting quietly without entertainment. Wrestling and throwing things is usually not the type of behavior I prefer while waiting in public places, like restaurants and doctor’s offices. So, I like to be prepared with some kid friendly game supplies ( I usually have a bag of dice and some playing cards in my purse). Sometimes you can plan ahead for down time and sometimes it just happens.
I suppose you could just hand your kids a tablet or phone to entertain them on these occasions, but don’t they get enough of that type of activity? I would rather have them spend some time doing things that are more likely to spark some creative and critical thinking, especially when it takes so little effort.
You may need some other simple supplies as well, like paper, pen, and coins. These are not unusual items to have in your purse anyways, so you might already be prepared and didn’t even know it. I also tend to keep a bag of dice in my purse. Sounds strange, but they have really come in handy on several occasions when my kids were getting antsy. The basic hangman and tic tac toe could be enough to entertain your kids, but I have found that mine were getting a little bored with those. They needed some new kid friendly games. So, I did some searching and found some other fun and easy games to play on the go.
Some of our favorite kid friendly games
Ship, Captain, Crew
This is one where the dice are used. You just need 5 dice. Players take turns rolling the dice up to 3 times. The first time all dice are rolled. You are trying to to get a ship (6), a captain (5), and a crew (4). If you didn’t get any of those or a 6 on your first roll, you must roll them all again. If you got a 6, keep it and roll the rest. Got a 6 and 5, keep them and roll the other 3. If you got a 6, 5, and 4, then you can choose to stay with what you have or re roll the remaining 2 dice (as long as you haven’t already had 3 tries already) for a higher total. The total of these two dice represent the number of crew you have. Whichever player gets the most crew wins.
Tapatan
You just need paper, something to draw the board with and 2 different looking items (3 of each kind) to use as place markers. We usually use coins, such as 3 pennies and 3 dimes or nickels. Check out how to play by following this link
Pong Hau K’I
You will need paper, something to draw the board with and 2 different looking items (2 of each kind) to use as place markers. Again, we usually use coins, such as 2 pennies and 2 dimes or nickels.
What’s missing?
We play this one a lot at restaurants. All the materials are usually provided. Depending on how old the players are you adjust how many items you include. Line up as many different objects from the table as you would like to use (spoon, sugar packet, straw, pepper shaker, etc.). One person is designated as the hider while everyone else closes their eyes. The hider then removes one of the objects and places it out of sight from the others. After the players open their eyes, the first person to guess the item removed wins. That usually means that they get to be the hider next in our family.
This game usually works best with younger kids since it becomes a lot less challenging as they get older. My 6 year old still loves it, but she doesn’t usually have any trouble guessing correctly.
Would you rather?
You can either purchase a deck of Would You Rather cards, or spark a little creativity and make up your own scenarios. You might even learn more about your family members when you make up your own questions, like how much your nephew really hates peanut butter.
It’s pretty simple and the possibilities are endless. It can be anything from “would you rather go to the beach or play in the snow” to “would you rather eat worms or go sky diving”. One of the best things about this game is that you can play it with as little as 2 people or a huge group and with a very wide age range.
Which one does not belong?
Again, this one can geared towards younger or older children. It will also require a little thinking on your part. The object is to come up with 2 things that are related in some way and one thing that is not related in the same way as the other 2 things. For the younger ones you could say, “apple, banana, and broccoli, which one doesn’t belong?”. If they know the difference between fruits and vegetables they will know that broccoli does not belong because it is a vegetable. You can make it as hard or as easy as you like. It’s good to stump the kids sometimes, but if it’s to difficult every time they will quickly lose interest. The same goes with older kids and not making it too easy, you gotta make them think a little or it won’t be any fun.
These are just a handful of the games we like to play to make time fly when we have to wait. I love these simple games because lowers the stress of having to entertain your kids, it provides some cognitive stimulation, and it doesn’t take much planning. If any of you have some fun and easy on the go games we could try I’d love to hear about them. Or, if you’ve tried any of the ones above, let me know how it went.
