Children Develop Cognitive Skills And Learning Strategies While Playing Trading Card Games (NAPSA)—Children are enter- tained day and night by DVDs, MP3s, video games, cell phones, and the Internet, which keep them constantly surrounded by images and sound. Despite this constant stimulation, children may be missing out on a key part of their cognitive and social development—constructive, interactive gameplay. Parents can help their children learn constructive interaction through trading card games. “Trading card games help children develop important organizational and reasoning strategies,” said Dr. Helen Boehm, psychologist and author of “Fearless Parenting for the New Millennium” and “The Official Guide to the Right Toys.” “In addition to providing a fundamental approach to sharing and socialization, these interactive trading card games foster strate- gic thinking, creative planning and problem-solving skills.” These games are created to engage the player’s imagination and require sound reasoning in order to be successful in the game. Not only do children learn new skills by playing, but it also provides parents with the opportunity to teach their children how to compete fairly and how to be a good sport, whether they win orlose. There are dozens of games to choose from, so which oneis best for your child? Choose a game that is age appropriate and with a subject that will interest your child. To introduce first-time players to strategy and gameplay, try the Neopets’ Trading Card Game, where pets compete in areas of strength, agility, magic andintelligence. Those who collect baseball cards may enjoy MLB Showdown’, which invites the player to act as the manager and ownerof a team, creating starting lineups and makingthecalls. The first trading card game, Magic: The Gathering’, remains the No. 1 trading card game with more than 6 million players. This game, where players square off as magic users, requires a high level of strategy and creativity to build an awe-inspiring deck. Or you might consider Duel Masters” Trading Card Game, which brings alive a dimensional realm of mighty and mysterious civilizations where players can battle and cast spells to break the other player’s defense. If parents are fans of GI Joe action figures, they may enjoy introducing their children to the GI Joe™ Trading Card Game, which gives the player strategic control of the heroic GI Joe troops as they battle the forces of Cobra. Finally, with Star Wars™ Trading Card Games, players can control their favorite Star Wars heroes and villains to recreate light-saber duels, space battles and ground assaults from the movies based on their armies, strategies and plans. New gameplayers can begin with a starter pack, which includes enough supplies for two players. As children become familiar with the rules and strategy of a game, they can introduce new elements to the game by adding cards from expansion sets. The seemingly neverending possibilities can engage each player’s imagination and encourage cognitive development andstrategic thinking.
