Top Tips for Buying Board Games for Toddlers

Ready to shop for board games for toddlers? When you are looking to introduce your toddler to board games, you need to make a careful choice. Board games are great fun but most are designed with older children in mind and trying to play a game that is too complicated or takes too long could just trigger one of those toddler tantrums!

Why play board games with young children?

A family board game that is designed for toddlers gives them an introduction to playing by basic rules. They learn to co-operate as they wait to take their turn and most of all your child will learn the value of enjoying quality family time together.

But, which toddler board games are the best value?

Board Game Shopping Guide

When shopping for board games for very young children. Here are the key points to keep in mind.

Make sure game pieces are large enough that they cannot be swallowed
Games with fragile components such as cards that can be torn are not suitable
Rules need to be as simple as possible. Usually it is enough for a toddler to try to wait their turn without complying with other rules!
Games should be bright and visually stimulating to hold the attention of young children.
You will most likely be playing as a family with your toddler and so it is important that the game can be adapted for different age groups.
Remember your toddler will need to win the game frequently in order to maintain an interest! It is useful if the game can be 'adjusted' a little by the supervising adults to ensure that everyone gets a turn to win.
I Recommend ...

If you are looking for a toddler board game then I recommend the Shopping List Memory Game from Orchard Toys.
All players have a shopping cart and the excitement of the game builds as you race to be the first to buy all items on your shopping list.
It contains quality playing cards with thick board (to resist bending from toddlers fingers!)
The cards are well illustrated and contain every day shopping items. It is a great game for developing vocabulary in young children.
Memory skills are tested as players search for the items they need to fill their cart.
The game is simple and as such is easily adapted to players of all ages and levels.

There are many board games on the market that claim to be suitable for toddlers but in my experience, the majority are only suitable from pre-school or kindergarten age. The exception are those games manufactured as toddler friendly by Orchard Toys. These are quality games that have been around for over 20 years. (I still have one of their games in my teaching kit that belonged to my brother as a child!) Their range has really expanded in recent years but still contains the old favourites as well as some great new ideas.

I bought my Shopping List Memory Game locally. However, if you want to buy online, it is currently sale with free shipping here

Using the Shopping List Memory Game for Speech and Language Therapy

Age Range	Age two to ten, depending on the task
Skills Targetted	Auditory or visual memory Vocabulary Turntaking and cooperation Speech sounds / artic drills
Game Variations	Use the picture cards to teach food vocabulary by searching for the item pictured in the kitchen at home. Have players collect all the items beginning with 's' or whichever sound your child is working on in speech. Create an auditory memory game to play with older children by using the playing cards to inspire "I went to market and I bought..."