Parents Guide - A Message from Aristoplay’s founder
Aristoplay’s founder, Jan Barney Newman, has good advice for making family game time a great time!
Even though we know the value of games as communications tools in families and we’re convinced of the importance of teaching our children to handle the dynamics of competition, it’s easy to find ourselves unprepared for the emotional heights that games can present. Without preparation, family togetherness can dissolve into tears and tantrums. The following guidelines should help prepare you for some good times ahead.
1. Very early game playing: Hide and Seek; Guess Which Hand? Be positive: Congratulate for a right guess; no “gotcha” for a wrong one. Take turns. You guess which hand. Congratulate your child for fooling YOU.
2. First card games: Play with a partial deck. Play shorter games. Stop when your child shows signs of frustration.
3. Tending tender temperaments: Be flexible with the rules. Read through them ahead of time and decide what will work best for your group. You might want to alter your “Old Maid” game so that the person who ends up with the odd card can be the winner instead of the loser.
4. Encouraging strategical thinking: Discuss the game strategy. What do we have to do to win? Emphasize that there is luck as will as skill involved. Tic Tac Twice and Moneywise Kids, are good strategy developers.
5. Sponsoring sportsmanship: Always compliment other players for good moves, commiserate when a tactic doesn’t quite work. (Parents have to show each other the consideration they show to the children if the lesson is really going to take.) It’s rewarding to hear an older sibling say to a younger: “Oh that’s too bad. If you had just rolled one higher you could have made it where you wanted to go.” A slight variance, “Ha, since you didn’t roll right, you’re going to lose!” can bring on floods of tears.
Don’t despair. Observing the above won’t make game playing too contrived to be fun. Nor will it mean that YOU can’t ever win a game. It will diminish the trauma and give you the opportunity to practice good character habits, good manners and good sportsmanship with your kids. Remember, they’ll learn best from your example.
Have good, happy fun!
Jan Barney Newman
Founder
Aristoplay, Ltd.
Gift Guide - We’re here to help!
We’re Here to Help!
To make choosing the right game easier for you here are some ideas. As always, we are happy to talk to you about our products to see which would be best for your needs. Just call us toll-free at 800-433-GAME.
The Perfect Gift?
What makes the perfect gift? When that gift is for a child the search can be exhausting! Ask a child, and chances are “the perfect gift” will be the latest heavily advertised toy or passing fad screaming out of the TV. In the mind of a parent or grandparent, “the perfect gift” might be one that satisfies their own desire to help the child grow to his or her full potential (and, in the process, to “do the right thing” as a grown-up).
At Talicor/Aristoplay, we think our games may be just what you’re looking for. If games were a part of your childhood, you may recall happy times when your family all got together to play. Family game time offered a chance to laugh and learn together and let the younger ones learn strategies from the older ones. Talicor/Aristoplay still believes in the value of these family times. Although you won’t see our games on Saturday morning TV or in the big chain stores, we know kids like them; love them in fact, because of the countless letters they send us. And parents love them, too, as we hear stories of how the games engaged and entertained their children while challenging them to learn. That’s no accident. We design them with both of you in mind.
Other reasons to give an Talicor/Aristoplay game?
- Multiple levels of play allow games to continue to be fun and challenging as children grow.
- Giving the gift of learning is always special, but not always common.
- Game play allows children to visit a subject again and again in different ways.
Gift Ideas:
- For pre-schoolers (and their parents):Monster Stop helps kids deal with fear and they get to smash monsters which is super cool! Consquences re-enforces good and bad actions that happen depending on what you did…made your bed today, roll and move forward…over slept today, roll and move back.
- For 4 to 8 year olds: Stop n’ Go Card game is a must have in any house. Kids young and old love the quick action play. Thumballs are also a great addition at this age, toss catch and respond to what is under your thumb.
- For 8 to 12 year olds: Herd Your Horses, 5th GEAR, Stranded, The Ungame, KOR, Jerk and Cha-Ching to name just a few!
- School Aids: Moneywise, Quick Pix, Math Smart, Where in the World, Spelling Beez, The Whole Brain Game and Thumballs.
For your child’s teacher: Where in the World, The Whole Brain Game, The Ungame, Thumballs….get on the Teachers good side with a game they can use in the classroom over and over.
Ordering is Easy!
Buy your gifts here through our Secure Online Store. Or call us toll-free at 800-433-GAME. We can ship directly to the gift recipient!
Resources - Great links and learning resources
Libraries
National School Supply and Equipment Association
Museums
Chicago Museum of Science and Industry
