Kaboutjie SA Mommy Blogs by Lynne Huysamen
If you are wondering whether children should be playing chess take note that it is a really fun game that requires some thinking and a bit of strategy. Since it is a game based on skill rather than just luck, it is a lot more rewarding than many other games.
If you are looking for a board game to play with your kids that is more gripping than say Snakes and Ladders, then I suggest you consider chess.
***Disclosure -The links in this post may contain affiliate links and I may receive a small commission if you make a purchase after clicking on a link.***
Why Children Should Be Playing Chess
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Playing Chess Uses The Left And Right Side Of The Brain
The right side of the brain uses logic and the left side of the brain uses creativity. Chess makes you use both sides of the brain making this a great activity to keep our brains tuned. Not just your children but for you too.
As we get older we use our left side of the brain more and the left side of our brains get used less and less. Exercising both sides of the brain is really good. This means that playing chess with your children will be a huge benefit to you.
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Chess Requires High Levels Of Concentration
When a child gets absorbed in a chess game it is excellent practice for teaching them how to concentrate. I’m not sure about your kids but mine often appear to have the attention span of a goldfish.
They can actually concentrate but they need to get captivated by something, which is why I think chess is going to be a brilliant game to get for my family.
Chess is not a short game, it will take some time so it will help them to pay attention and concentrate for a decent period of time.
The fact is that if they are doing something fun and enjoyable they will be able to concentrate for longer. If they can concentrate longer on chess they are learning how to concentrate, they will then in time be able to concentrate on other things for longer too.
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Chess Involves Strategic And Logical Thinking, Planning And Foresight
Yes when a child first starts playing they will probably just wing it and not think ahead to their next moves at all, but with time they will learn that they can plan ahead and even trick their opponents into certain moves that will be to their benefit.
The more they play the better they will get at playing strategically and planning their game.
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Chess Helps Develop Problem Solving Skills
When your child starts thinking beyond his next move he will start to also develop problem solving skills. When he understands that certain moves he makes will have consequences he will start having to look at all the options available and what the ripple effect could be for each one.
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Chess Improves Memory
It will take some time for your child to learn how each chess piece moves and the rules of the game which will help your child improve his memory. In addition to that when your child starts with strategical thinking he will have to remember a few moves ahead and what he has planned in each possible move his opponent makes.
The more chess he plays he plays the better his memory will become over time. This is an excellent way to help your child with memory skills and not even make it seem like a chore.
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Chess Will Teach Your Child The Importance Of Competition And How To Lose
Chess will teach your child important life lessons.
Children need to learn that there is going to be competition in almost every aspect of life and that they need to learn to do things to the best of their ability to succeed.
At school children will be competing to get the best grades, in sports they will be competing as a team against other teams or as an individual against other individuals.
Then when they are adults they will be competing against thousands of other people for a place in university or college. When they apply for their first job they will be competing against loads of other capable applicants.
Although obviously the goal of playing a game and being in competition is winning, losing is at some stage inevitable. Losing is not just about not being a sore loser, it is about looking at why you lost and seeing what you can learn from it so you can come back bigger and better next time.
It is also important for children to learn that it is a fact of life that sometimes no matter how hard you try sometimes you will lose anyway. Then you need to pick yourself up and just get on with life.
Looking at all these above points it is clear that there are many benefits your kids will get if you teach them how to play chess. Teaching your child how to play chess will really help your child with his intellectual and personal development in a way that not many other games can compete with.
If you don’t know how to play chess yourself, you can even learn chess online and then teach your kids. It will give you a wonderful opportunity to learn something new and bond with your children.
Hi Lynne,
Have you started with you little girl yet? If so how is it going?
My daughter also has crazy tantrums when she knows shes going to lose. I then explain that its ok to lose, the point is to have fun, then shes ok until the next time she loses LOL
Not yet Tamara, I still have to buy a chess board! You know how it goes… it is on my list of things to do. That really long list!
I hope to get to it this week though and I will most certainly update you!
That would be awesome Lynne, thank you.
My biggest challenge is what to do with my 3 year old while I teach my daughter! I will have to try and do it while he is having one of his now infrequent day naps.
LOL!!! Good luck….
I use to play chess. and it really does give insight to many things in life. Thank you again for reminding me!
It is a pleasure Annancia, perhaps you will pick up playing chess again?
Ill remember this and invest in a chess board for when little one is bigger
I bought a cute little wooden chess board with a book about the rules from Bargain Books for just R50 the other day. My daughter and I have been practicing but she can’t concentrate too long yet since she is only 5 years old.
I am sure that we will have loads of fun with it soon. She is getting better.
thats nice and also cheap ill visit our bagain books sure u will still have lots of fun
Its awesome how many things chess do like when u play use left and right brian concentration memory all that i wanted to visit bagain books see if i can get one but i have mo clue how to play but im going to learn ita motivation for me to learn how to play by he time my son is also more or less 5 i can teach him and u never know maybe his school have chess and he can attend the chess this will only be a + for him.
I really don’t know anything about chess I never played in my life but I guess it not too late for my son you learn
I personally have never likes chess nor have I understood it but saying that is my own opinion. My son and i play cards and uno.
My son loves puzzle games and he is very good at it. I never thought of chess game though. But reading your post makes me thinks of getting him one he might like it also
I will buy it when my son is little grown up maybe next year
Both my older Children plays Chess and have to say it helps with concentration, maths, and strategy. For our family playing chess is a full time commitment and they do lots of tournaments. Hope to start our youngest at 3 years. Best thing to teach your kids.
It is so lovely to hear about your experience with chess and your kids Wanda 🙂 I am busy teaching my five year old daughter, maybe I should also teach my son that is three years old. I thought he would be a little bit young still.
Wow this very nice indeed.
My son is 6 and I have JUST decided that he will be tough Chess. haha. Thanx for this amazing eye opener article
I feel so inspired by this article to start teaching my four year old how to play chess. At the same time, though, a part of me is screaming, “Warning! Disaster ahead!” We’ll see how it goes, I guess, and whether I’m brave enough to even get started.
I loved playing chess when I was younger (maybe in part because I was the oldest and usually won?) Now my husband always wins, and I haven’t thought to play it for a few years. I think my children would love it! Great point about not just teaching our children to not be sore losers–I hadn’t thought about how there’s much more to it.
Wow! I never imagined the benefits of playing chess with your kids. I’ve played it a couple of times with my son just for fun. I will definitely do this much more!
I started playing scrabble with my boy, he enjoys it some days more than others. My 4 year old gets interested and it helps her with recognition of letters and I suppose it will eventually help with spelling and reading.
I have always enjoyed playing chess and am in fact an avid fan of it. These reasons are indeed very true and I would agree that more children should be encouraged to play chess more often!
I wish I could teach my 3 year old to play. She likes to build puzzles. She is at a 50 piece puzzle now. I think it will challenge her a lot and help her to start solving difficult puzzles. I hope I can start soon…
I’m inspired going to get a chess board and the rules I’ve seen the phenomenonal impact it has had on my neighbors grandson he is a whizz in maths less video games now for my kids more games that stimulate the mind
We have a DC Comics chess set with all different characters from the DC Comics series. My son is very intrigued by the Batman vs Joker characters and loves to play with the chess pieces. As he gets older we will teach him the rules of the game and see how it goes. Maybe one day he can play competitive chess.
Love this board game but it has been years since I last played. I hope my child will like this game one day. Thank you for the above. 😊