This year November 24-30 is National Game and Puzzle Week and LearningRx, the world’s largest personal brain training company, is sharing recommendations for some great family games that also boost cognitive skills.
“Cognitive skills are the tools we use to pay attention, memorize, process, recall and apply information,” explains LearningRx Chief Research Officer Tanya Mitchell. “These include attention, working memory, processing speed, auditory and visual processing, logic & reasoning and long-term memory.”
Need an example of a game that builds brain skills? How about that old favorite, Battleship, in which players try to sink their opponent’s fleet of ships before their own ships are sunk. The game builds skills like planning, logic & reasoning, problem solving, strategy and working memory.
“While these games are fun and help boost cognitive skills, we do recommend that parents who suspect that their child has a learning struggle consider more targeted one-on-one brain training,” says Mitchell. “At LearningRx, we start with a cognitive skills assessment to determine which brain skills are weak. Then we create a personalized program that incorporates immediate feedback, intensity and loading, among other features, to train those weak skills.”
Choose Toys that Build Cognitive Skills with The Smart Mom’s Toy Box:
Buying toys for your kids isn’t as simple as it used to be, as many of today’s children and teens are adding the newest smartphones high-tech gadgets and video games to their lists faster than you can swipe your credit card.
For many parents, buying toys can feel like simply stockpiling more useless junk that will sit in the toybox until it’s time to gather pieces for donations.
But what if there was a compromise? What if you chose games and toys that are fun for your kids, but also boost cognitive skills, like memory, auditory and visual processing, attention, logic & reasoning, and processing speed? We’re talking about award-winning games that have a track record of appeasing both bored kids and parents who are trying to build strong brains
LearningRx has put together its annual list of brain-building games for the Smart Mom’s Toy Box. These pieces have been named best in class because kids love them and they build cognitive skills. Best of all, they’re all under $30 on Amazon.com!
10 Award-Winning Toys and Games that Boost Brain Skills – under $30!
- Tall Tales ($29.95)
This story-telling board game offers five ways to play with 24 story cards, 50 game pieces and a story bag.
Ages: 4+
Cognitive skills: attention, creativity, logic & reasoning, visual processing
Awards: 2016 Scholastic Parent & Child Gold Star Toy Award, PAL Award, Tillywig Toy Award Winner for Best Family Fun
- Brain Freeze ($24.95)
Make guesses, record answers and eliminate variables until you can guess your opponent’s secret sweet treat.
Ages: 5+
Cognitive Skills: logic & reasoning, memory, strategy, deduction
Awards: 2016 Tillywig Toy Award Winner
Ready to head to the store (or online!) to do your holiday shopping? For the rest of the Smart Mom’s Toy Box click here, and download a free Games for Skills Chart.
LearningRx, headquartered in Colorado Springs, Colorado, is the largest one-on-one brain training organization in the world. LearningRx has helped more than 100,000 individuals and families sharpen their cognitive skills to help them think faster, learn easier, and perform better. Their on-site programs partner every client with a personal brain trainer to keep clients engaged, accountable, and on-task—a key advantage over online-only brain exercises. Their pioneering methods have been used in clinical settings for 35 years and have been verified as beneficial in peer-reviewed research papers and journals. To learn more about LearningRx visit www.learningrx.com.