Charades: Toddler Edition

My kids and I have yet to successfully complete a board game together.

I blame myself, for the most part, for believing manufacturers who say that their game is perfect for ‘ages three and up.’ Have you ever tried to play Candy Land with a three year-old? There are no winners or losers; there aren’t even rules or foreseeable endings. There are just stories involving the various game pieces, and who those pieces are friends with. And there is yelling. Lots of yelling.

We abandoned board games for a while, and instead allowed the kids to cannibalize the boxes and use the pieces for whatever they wanted, sometimes with unfortunate results. Sadly, Little Blonde Boy from Chutes and Ladders and Green Waving Guy from Candy Land are barely speaking right now.

The kids are a year older now – almost five – and I figured it was time to give it another go. For Christmas, I bought them Charades. They include a version with clues that are just pictures, for kids who are too young to read. We have been playing it for the past couple of days, and oh my god, they suck.

Here is an example. It was my daughter’s turn to act out a word. She picked a new card and showed it to me. It was a picture of a birthday cake with candles in it. So far, so good.

My daughter smiled, walked to the center of the room, laid down on her back and stuck her arms and legs in the air. You know…like a birthday cake…with four little candles sticking out of it?

I decided to try to help my son, who was guessing every kind of dead animal he could think of.

Me: “Ben, let me help you. What’s a kind of food that has candles in it?”
Ben: “Uh…”
Me: “What special day is coming up for you guys in a couple of months?”
Ben: “HANUKKAH!!”
Me: “Dude. We’re not even Jewish.”

You should see them try to act out a kite or a flag. There’s a lot of standing in place and swaying. Clearly, we have some work to do.

Meredith Bland is the mother of twins, born in 2008. Follow Meredith on her popular, award-winning blog, Pile of Babies.