9 ways to entertain your child without taking out your phone

1. Guess the melody

Sing a song that your child is familiar with, such as from a cartoon or children's show, and ask them to guess the name.

2. What's missing?

This game is perfect if you are sitting in a cafe. Take a few objects, such as a fork, spoon, and salt shaker, and ask your child to look at them closely. Then cover them with a napkin and discreetly remove one of the items. To do this, lift the edge of the napkin on your side so that it is not visible what exactly you are taking out. Now remove the napkin and ask the child to identify what is missing.

3. Guess who I am

Think of some animal to yourself, and let the child ask questions in order to understand who you are. For example, you can ask: "Are you growling?", "Do you live, where is the warmth?", "Do you have fur?"

4. Touch …

Ask to touch objects of a certain color. You can touch furniture, clothes and everything that the child can reach. If you can walk without disturbing others, make the game more mobile.

5. Find objects of the same shape

Ask if the child sees something of a certain shape around him. For example: "Do you see something round?" or "Do you see anything that looks like a triangle?"

6. I see …

Pick an object that both of you can see and say, “I see something, and it…. What it is? If the child already knows the alphabet and has a small vocabulary, name the first letter in the word.

For very young children who only understand colors and shapes, name one of these qualities or describe the object somehow, for example: "I see something and it is hard and shiny."

7. Find the difference

You will need a pen and paper for this game. Divide a piece of paper into four squares, draw identical shapes in three, and something else in the fourth. For example, three dogs and one cat, or three triangles and one oval. Then ask your child to point to a square that is different from the others.

The older the child, the more you can complicate the task: in three sectors, draw five circles, and in the last - six, and ask to find the difference.

8. Simple riddles

Make a simple riddle, for example: “I have four legs, I am white and fluffy. Who am i?" or “I am round, I have two arms, and there are many numbers around me. What am I?"

9. Guess which hand

First, show that you have nothing in your hands. Then place a small object, like a coin, in one palm, hide your hands behind your back, and transfer the object from one hand to the other several times. Then ask to guess which hand the coin is in.