Playing games is a great way to get your child talking and laughing with you, and also teaches important skills like dealing with chance and the unknown as well as failure.
Here are 10 great games that I recommend parents play with their children who have anxiety:
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- Jenga. This game is a great anxiety game because you can talk about how it feels to choose a block, and how it feels to worry about it being the right or wrong one. If the blocks fall, then you can discuss failure and that it is ok and how to rebuild and try again.
- Don’t Break the Ice. This is a similar game of chance, and like Jenga can open up a lot of discussion about worrying and making choices and how to recover from those choices and try again.
- Headbanz. This is a great game for anxious children to get the whole family working together and a great way to teach perseverance because it can take some time to get the right answer.
- Race to the Treasure. I love using this game with kids with anxiety because there is no winner, it’s a cooperative game and everyone is trying for the same goal. This leads to lots of healthy dialogue and cooperation.
- Superhero Strengths. This is a card game that helps you create a dialogue with your child about their emotions and feelings.
- Thoughts and Feelings Cards. These cards are a great anxiety game that gives prompts and allow your child to complete them in order to start difficult conversations that can lead to a more open and trusting relationship.
- Cauldron Quest. This is another fun, cooperative game that helps build self-esteem and emotional development. Great for creativity and problem-solving skills.
- Dragonwood. This is one of my all-time favorites. It does require some basic math (addition) but a parent can help with that. This game is a great way to help anxious children get used to taking chances and risks and learning that some will pay off and others won’t. That can lead to important conversations about how great it was they took a chance even if they weren’t sure.
- First Orchard. This game is actually for ages 2 and up, so it’s great for a wide range of ages. It’s a cooperative game along the lines of Race to the Treasure (above).
- Friends and Neighbors. This is a game to help anxious children and their families work on cooperation, compassion, and empathy.
- Jenga. This game is a great anxiety game because you can talk about how it feels to choose a block, and how it feels to worry about it being the right or wrong one. If the blocks fall, then you can discuss failure and that it is ok and how to rebuild and try again.
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- Lego. I had to include one more, because Lego is a great way for anxious kids to move their focus to a tactile project. Also because thereis no “right’ or “wrong” way to build with Lego there is less chance of frustration as it’s just a fun and creative way to distract from anxiety and spend some time building. Plus they have FREE SHIPPING every day on orders over $35!
- Lego. I had to include one more, because Lego is a great way for anxious kids to move their focus to a tactile project. Also because thereis no “right’ or “wrong” way to build with Lego there is less chance of frustration as it’s just a fun and creative way to distract from anxiety and spend some time building. Plus they have FREE SHIPPING every day on orders over $35!
Check out my other posts about anxiety by clicking here.
**We do receive a small fee if you purchase any of the anxiety games above and we will put that back into creating more useful lists for you!
Dr. Sean Paul, MD is a child and teen psychiatrist who sees clients both in person as well as via online psychiatry.
