However, Sudoku is more than a pastime. It’s not just a way to keep your kids off the couch or away from the video game controllers. Playing Sudoku for kids can actually be a helpful, enriching activity that supports their overall education and sets them up for greater success in life.
Here are a few reasons why Sudoku for kids is definitely a good idea:
Kids Learn Problem-Solving Skills
Sudoku is not only a fun puzzle game, it’s also a “brain game” that is believed to support cognitive development. When kids play Sudoku, they learn deductive reasoning skills that can serve them well at school and in other areas of life.
There are many reasons why schools are teaching Sudoku. Studies have shown that Sudoku can help improve kids’ memories, as well as improving abstract reasoning. Sudoku can also be used for subject-specific teaching, like using chemical symbols in the grid (instead of numbers) to teach chemistry.
Kids Learn Patience and Confidence
Playing Sudoku gives kids the self-confidence to believe that they can solve complex puzzles. It teaches them how to recognize patterns, sort through irrelevant data to find the necessary information (by finding the right number to place, ruling out other numbers, etc.), and develop a consistent thought process for working through the puzzle.
Kids Learn Tenacity
Sudoku is not easy. Sometimes we all get stuck while playing Sudoku, and sometimes it can be frustrating. These are good lessons for kids to learn – unlike a video game that they can beat time and time again, Sudoku always offers an ever-escalating challenge. Playing Sudoku teaches kids to never give up, to keep searching for solutions, to keep adapting their approach and evolving their puzzle-solving skills to take in new information.
Kids Can Play Sudoku Anywhere
No one loves mobile devices more than kids. We’ve all seen how even young children can quickly master the latest smartphone or tablet PC. This is another good reason to teach kids to play Sudoku – they can play on their mobile devices, anytime, anywhere. Maybe soon your kids will rather play Sudoku than watch TV! Instead of video games, they’ll be playing “brain games.”
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