62 safe games for kids to enjoy indoors and outdoors
It's any parent's worst nightmare to realize their child may be engaging in risky behavior, particularly while simply trying to play with friends.
That makes it all the more important for parents to understand and recognize the difference between safe games for kids and unsafe games.
Corinne McDermott, founder of Have Baby Will Travel, tells TODAY.com there are different types of safety to consider.
"Some games might not be safe from a physical perspective, like those that require physical ability or motor skills that your child may not be ready for or able to do yet," McDermott says. "And some games may be unsafe from a psychological perspective, like ones that may have scary themes or have more mature content that a child might misunderstand."
McDermott recommends that parents be aware of the kinds of games their children are participating in, so they can determine if it’s something their child can handle.
"Parents know their kids best, so they should ask themselves if there is anything inappropriate their child would have access to or might find scary," she says.
For outdoor games in particular, parents should consider their own child’s physical abilities and street smarts, but also that of the kids they may be playing with.
"Even if (parents) believe their child is OK to play unsupervised, other kids might be less capable of making good choices and then other kids might encourage unsafe play or bully their peers," McDermott says.
62 Safe Games For Kids
McDermott tells TODAY.com that as a parent she would "rather be safe than sorry."
"Of course you can not control every second of every day and accidents will and do happen," she explains. "But using an abundance of caution — especially when other kids are involved — while explaining to your child why you take the precautions you do will go a long way in fostering their future independence."
34 Safe Kids’ Games To Enjoy Indoors
There is a wide variety of safe games for kids indoors, including board games, card games and games that involve other players.
"Safe games for indoor play are most board games, provided your child is old enough to understand the rules, basic card games like Go Fish or Snap, any video game rated for their age that does not have a multiplayer option enabled and — if you have someone indoors to play with — simple games requiring a pen and paper are tic-tac-toe and hangman," McDermott says.
Tic-tac-toe
Hangman
Sudoku
Go Fish card game
Snap card game
Solitaire card game
War card game
Chess
Checkers
Dice games
Dominoes
I spy
Tape maze
Charades
Hide and seek
Scavenger hunt
Rubik's Cube
Pictionary
Scrabble
Candy Land
Chutes and Ladders
Sorry!
Monopoly
Racing paper airplanes
Jacks
Marbles
Heads up, seven up
Freeze dance dancing competition
Cat's Cradle string game
Miss Mary Mack hand-clap game
Telephone
Rock, paper, scissors
Kid-friendly jokes competition
28 Safe Kids' Games To Play Outdoors
Safe games kids can play outdoors are entirely dependent on the child’s age, maturity and the level of supervision available.
"Hopscotch is fun for all ages and only some chalk is required," McDermott says. "Games like tag or hide-and-seek — which is often called Manhunt now — can be fine for older kids, but could be dangerous for small children who may wander off or put themselves in unsafe situations while hiding."
She continues, "Spikeball is a new favorite outdoor game that is safe and fun for many ages and ability levels and you can’t go wrong with classic backyard games like cornhole or ring toss or tetherball."
Hopscotch
Chalk games
Tag
Hide-and-seek
Spikeball
Cornhole
Ring Toss
Tetherball
Duck, Duck, Goose
Marco Polo
Four Square
Frisbee
Jump rope
Red light, green light
Hula hoop
Simon says
Musical chairs
Horse basketball game
Freeze
Scavenger hunt
I spy
Spud
Parachute
Obstacle course
Scavenger hunt
Sardines
Gaga
Don't drop the ball
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
