Play safe and kids-friendly games to keep your little ones engaged without compromising their safety.
Spending time with kids could be one of the most rewarding experiences in your life. That being said, it is extremely important to spend time with kids involving activities that could contribute to their cognitive growth, positive self-image, and interpersonal skills.
If you are running out of ideas to be there for your kids and engage them in activities that would have them have a great time as well as contribute healthily to their mental and physical growth, we have the perfect ideas for you.
15 Best Games for Your Kids
So, we have mentioned below our top 15 safe kids games for great fun. Read them below, and try some of them out with your kids. We hope you have a great time bonding with the mini humans in your house!
1. Walrus
This is a very engaging game with ample usage of thinking skills. The rules are simple: a group of kids decide on an activity, like swimming, playing tennis, etc. while one kid is sent outside the room to guess what the group has decided on.
The twist is that the name of the said activity is switched with the word ‘walrus’. Later, when the kid being sent outside is allowed to enter the room, he or she is tasked to figure out the activity through questions. This would help prompt them to get the clue.
For example, when he or she asks the group, ‘When do you do this activity?’ the group answers, ‘We walrus every day after school’ where the word walrus replaces the name of game/action. The game continues till they find the correct answer.
2. Simon Says
It is one of the most fun and nostalgic games where the catch is to think outside the box to make it more fun. One person acts as a ‘leader’ while the rest of the people do what he says. For example, the leader says, ‘Simon says, stand on one leg’, and the group has to comply.
The twist in the game is when the leader says ‘jump’, and anyone who complies, loses because the leader didn’t say ‘Simon says’ beforehand. Beware of the noise though, because it could have the kids rolling with laughter as the blunders could end up being very funny!
3. Look Up, Look Down
In this game, a group of children has to make a circle where they are supposed to look down until the moderator or ‘leader’ tells them to look up. Simply gather them in a circle, holding hands, and have them look at the floor together. In a moment, say ‘Look up!’.
They would have to comply by looking up, and immediately looking at anyone in the circle. Any two people who make eye contact, scream, and are removed from the group. The leader then instructs them to look down. The game continues till there are only 2-3 people left.
That way, the options get extremely limited, and the game could extend longer than this point till the winner takes all the points and glory.
4. Body Spellers
This is quite a fun activity where each member has to make an alphabet with their body. For example, if a group of five people has decided on the name ‘LOVE, one person spells ‘L’ with their arms, the other ‘O’, two people spell ‘V’, and the last person spells ‘E’ with some help.
This could also be an aesthetic picture idea for any kids’ birthday party, like birthdays or christenings. You could also play this among adults, as the options could be vast for them to spell longer or more complicated words could be used.
For example, spelling ‘zebra’ could be tricky as one person cannot spell this word easily with their arms alone. Imagine the pictures coming out of this fun game with some adorable kids making spelling words look fun!
5. Snake in the Gutter
This is a game where a group of children hold hands and stand as far from each other as they can. The space between them is called a gutter, while the children holding hands are called snakes. The ideas and imaginations are what make this game unique among all.
The remaining kids have to pass by the ‘gutter’ without being touched by the snakes, which is a challenge because the ‘snakes’ can easily touch any passers-by. If they get touched, they would become one of the snakes, and join the rest in the gutter.
6. Catch The Dragon’s Tail
This game requires a big ground. Then, all the children join hands to become one ‘dragon’s tail’ where the one standing on the stand is a dragon’s head, and the one at the last is a dragon’s tail. A large ground would help the kids make a longer body and freely run around holding hands.
The game is for the head to catch the tail with everyone in the middle trying to stop them without breaking the chain. If the head catches the tail, they switch places and the game continues. The larger the gang, the more difficult it is for the head to catch the tail.
7. Molecules
This is a game that greatly contributes to a child’s listening and teamwork skills. Its rules are simple. You need to gather children in an open group and ask them to walk freely. Then, you will need to ask them to make ‘a molecule of six’ so they need to quickly make a circle of six, holding hands.
You can vary the numbers and ask them to make ‘a molecule of four’ or ‘a molecule of one’ and the group would need to form groups of four or one large circle. Anyone who got left out gets out from the team, and the game continues for a long time.
8. Hide and Seek
This is another classic game of everyone’s childhood where one person needs to count to ten and the rest of the children have to hide. The one who counts has to then find them all.
The game continues till all the children are found from their hiding places. This game is best played indoors at birthday parties, etc. while giving the adults some peace at least till every kid is hidden safely in their hiding places.
9. Twister
Twister is a fun game that is played in a small group on a mat that is spread on the floor. It contains four rows of six large colored circles with different colors in each row. The colors are red, yellow, green, and blue.
Each player has to put their hands and feet on the colored circle without falling over. This game promotes great physical activity as well as coordination among people.
10. Water Balloon Fight
The water balloon fight is exactly what it sounds like. Although to make minimal mess, you need to play this on an open ground on a park or lawn.
All the children in the group would be provided with water-filled balloons so that they could be thrown on each other, as they burst when hit on a solid surface. The game could get messy so make sure to keep a couple of towels handy after it’s over to avoid getting sick.
11. Tug of War
Tug of War is a classic game which is played by almost everyone in their childhood. It needs two teams of equal members on either end of a rope and a line is drawn in the middle. The most fun in the game is to pull with all their upper body strength, making it a great, fun workout.
Both the teams tug the rope till one team is pulled across the line, making them lose. This game builds physical strength and improves the motor skills of players. After the win, the teams can switch the players to make it more interesting and challenging in the next round.
12. Red Light, Green Light
The rules of this game are pretty straightforward. One kid is assigned to be the leader who shouts “red light” or “green light” from a distance to the playgroup, resembling that of traffic lights for the kids to familiarize themselves with the concept better.
Start or stop being associated with colors is a creative way for kids to link meaning to command and actions that follow it. Green light means run towards the leader, and red light means to stop. The first player who reaches the leader wins, and the ones who move during the red light, lose.
Sometimes, the leader has fun but messes with the players, by minimizing the duration between red and green light. The key is to have fun and make the game end by tricking the players into losing.
13. Balancing Acts
The game is similar to how it sounds. Music is played while the players are given an object to balance on their heads as they walk. If the object falls, the player freezes until someone puts it back on their head and the game continues.
If no one puts the fallen object back to the frozen player’s head, the game continues without them. Moreover, once the music stops, everyone pauses and reset their objects. The game continues for as long as the group desires.
You could also make the game even more fun by assigning the end point for the players to walk to and messing with the music. If the kids are cheeky, there are going to be squeals of laughter from the gang as they play.
14. Scavenger Hunt
Scavenger Hunt is another of our favorite games where one team member hides a few objects around the house or outdoors, while the rest of the members of the group have to look for them. You could hide one or multiple gifts, one for each player to find and keep.
The game is made interesting using clues written on chits of paper which improves the critical thinking skills of a group. You could use sentences, limericks, poems, and even one-word prompts to hint at the players of the hiding places.
You can brainstorm different places to hide the chits which could lead to the young gang finding their gifts. For indoors, you could hide the gifts in the kitchen, under the table, etc. while outdoors, a flower pot or bush could be your secret hiding spot.
This is a tradition most commonly observed in families and friend groups, which they enjoy participating in especially during Easter, involving eggs and other items to collect.
15. Dodgeball
Finally, this game could ensure great improvement in a kid’s hand-eye coordination as well as physical fitness and teamwork. The game involves dodging yourself from the ball which is thrown by the opposite team to hit you. Just make sure to not hit too hard as it could potentially hurt you.
Softball or not, anything thrown hard enough could hurt if one isn’t careful. Two teams have a goal to make the opposite side lose all the members by hitting them with a softball. Your job is to keep yourself safe, as individual safety ensures a team’s success.
It’s one of the most entertaining games to be played by people of all ages. So, if you have kids who love being outdoors and have an athletic bone in their bodies, you could try playing this game with them as well as supervising an adult on the team.
Final Thoughts
Who says having fun couldn’t go well for kids’ growth and mental health? We know we don’t!
We hope that you enjoyed reading about these top 15 safe kids games for great fun. Most parents or guardians run out of ideas to make their kids play games which is good for them in multiple ways and contributes to their well-being in the long run.
Well, the good news is that after reading this blog, you will not experience this issue anymore. Not only it would ensure to make your next kids’ party is fun and engaging with all the guests having fun, but it could without a doubt improve their daily cognitive and motor functioning.
