12 Brain Games for kids to improve concentration

In today’s world, there are so many distractions that it’s almost impossible to concentrate on one thing for a long time. The situation can be worse with easy access to phones or other devices that can cause distraction.

So, what can you do to improve your concentration? Well, there are many games that you can play to help boost your level of concentration. In this guide, we take you through the 12 best brain games that you can begin playing right away to improve your concentration span.

1. Crossword Games

These games are among the best cognitive exercises as they challenge your brain to focus as you try to figure out the answers. Apart from helping you improve your concentration, they also enable you to reduce the risk of dementia. Now one can play their favourite crossword puzzle games and find crusader crossword answers 911 online to check the score.

2. Jigsaw Puzzles

Jigsaw puzzles are excellent for enabling you to engage your short-term memory. Your mind has to concentrate in order to sort out the different colours that form a picture. The more pieces there are, the more your brain has to work. Hence forcing it to think harder than it normally does. Solving jigsaw puzzles every day can help you improve your concentration a lot.

3. Chess

If you are looking for a game that will force you to think critically and logically, then chess is what you need. Playing chess forces you to think about using your entire brain (both sides). This can help you significantly in boosting your concentration. This game challenges you to be creative to solve problems. So, you have to concentrate a lot to do that well enough to win.

4. Sudoku

Solving this game trains your mind to absorb several strategies and pieces of information in a short period. Therefore, playing sudoku forces your brain to concentrate so you can place all the numbers in order with no repetition. By doing so, this game stimulates your brain to think fast and makes you better in activities that require a lot of concentration and thinking.

5. Brain Teasers

These games are great for challenging the brain to concentrate for you to figure them out as they even include riddles. By doing so, brain teasers help you build your brain muscle and improve your concentration levels.

6. Shopping Games

Another perfect way of improving your concentration levels is trying to memorize a shopping list. You need to use peg words to help you symbolize what is actually on your shopping list.

For instance, you have bread, butter and chocolate on your shopping list. You can picture the bread as a car, butter as keys and chocolate as fuel. For a car to function fully, you need to have all three items right?
So, when you use them to symbolize the exact things on your list, it can make it easy for you to remember the things you need to buy in the right order without forgetting a thing. Using other things to symbolize stuff on your shopping list forces you to concentrate, so you don’t forget the actual things you have on your list.

7. Brain Yoga

Brain yoga might seem simple but can challenge your brain concentration a lot. How this game works is you have to make a fist with your left hand and then extend your pinky finger. You need to make a fist with your right hand too only that you’ll need to extend your thumb this time.
After that, you need to try alternating in that your right hand extends the pinky finger while the left extends the thumb. Now try doing it severally. Not so easy right? Playing brain yoga needs a lot of coordination to do it correctly. Doing it a few times a day can help you improve your concentration significantly.

8. Lumosity

Lumosity is one of the best games that you can play to help you enhance your mental skills. Neuroscientists came up with this app to help people effectively boost their concentration levels and think faster. Using this app for just a session every day can help you increase your concentration levels a lot.

9.Tray Game

To play this game, place some random items on a tray then ask someone to hold it for you. Take a quick peek at the tray then tell your friend to cover it. After he/she does that, try remembering everything on the tray without looking. When you list down everything you remember, uncover the tray and see if there is something you did miss.

10. Rebus Puzzle

This game is excellent as it uses phrases with hidden meanings, which then forces you to concentrate on the words to figure out what they mean. For instance, a phrase like ‘’bad’’ could secretly mean terrible. You’ll need to take some time to think of the phrase repeatedly to solve the puzzle. So, you must concentrate hard. By doing so, this game enables you to improve your concentration levels.

11. Suitcase Game

You have to play this game with a group of people. One person has to declare that he/she has chosen an item to pack in a suitcase. The next player mentions a different item and also says what the previous person chose. If you can’t remember what the previous person said or miss one item in the list, then you are automatically out of the game.

12. Video Games

There are video games that need you to multitask or react to new environments when you are still playing. These games can be perfect for boosting your concentration as they force your brain to focus, so you don’t miss any detail. For younger kids video games should be used at the discretion of the parent’s.

There are many brain games that you can play to help you boost your concentration. However, some of these games can get repetitive and become easy to solve after playing for some time. When this happens, ensure you get another game, so you keep challenging your mind with different things.

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About the Guest Author

Rebecca Siggers is a teacher and passionate writer. She enjoys writing about children’s learning activities, parenting tips and the effects of puzzles and crosswords. Through her writing, she hopes to influence as many people as possible to help kids grow their mental skills.