As a parent, you want your child to be successful.

No matter what kind of parent you are - Helicopter, Free-range, Tiger Mom, Lawnmower (yes, that’s a thing) - we often have the same goal for our kids. We want our children to grow up to be kind, productive, and successful members of society (hopefully).

Even though there are many different parenting styles, we basically all want what we think is best for our children.

We want to help set them up for success.

Raising independent and confident kids is what inspired us to design Blimey Box Escape Room games.

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Yes, our brain games help young learners with math and reading skills. However, the main goal of our games is to teach children problem-solving skills and the desire to keep trying even when faced with challenges.

 

5 Tips to Help Your Child Be Successful with Learning

Here are five tips to help your child be a successful learner and develop critical thinking skills. Also, try to keep these suggestions in mind when your child is playing Blimey Box games:

1. Kids should struggle

When trying to solve the puzzles. Please do not race to the rescue and give your child answers or show them how to solve a problem.

Some of the puzzles are challenging and your child will probably struggle a bit.

Give them think-time to try and figure it out. By giving your child the answer hinders their learning.

We want to help kids develop grit.

2. Instead, parents should act as the guide, not the demonstrator.

We know you know how to solve the problems. Now let your child figure it out on his or her own. Think of your child as Luke Skywalker and you are Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Your child is the hero and needs to figure it out on their own, with your guidance. You are supporting them through their hero’s journey.

Give them opportunities to think with our problem-solving treasure hunt activities.

3. Let them make mistakes.

They will NEED to make mistakes along the way, and that is OKAY.

Kids learn from mistakes. Don’t try to save them before they enter an answer incorrectly. This does NOT help them learn.

In our games, the locks will let them know if an answer is right or if they need to go back over their work and find their mistakes.

It's a good idea to praise mistakes as learning opportunities. This encourages a Growth Mindset.

4. Show their learning

It’s important to encourage your child to write out his or her answers on each puzzle. This improves the child’s handwriting skills and coordination and allows you to see his or her mistakes so you can guide the child more effectively.

Additionally, this is a good habit for kids to get in to be able to explain their thinking.

5. Support with questions.

Yes, let your child struggle, however, you don’t need to let them struggle to the point of frustration and giving up. I

f your children struggle when playing Blimey Box games, use questioning techniques to guide them to the correct answer. (ie. What numbers do you see? Why do you think that answer didn’t work? Why did you write that number? How many are there if you count them again?)

Notice, you are not simply giving them the answers. By doing this, you are making them think about how to solve challenging problems.

Learning is much more meaningful for a child when he or she arrives at the correct solution independently. Blimey Box games are developed to inspire kids to interact with new concepts and learn to apply the newly acquired skills to more difficult challenges.

Apply these 5 strategies to help your child be successful in life!

These 5 tips are great for Blimey Box games, but also can be applied to life.

• Let your child experience obstacles and challenges that are difficult. This will ultimately help them learn to problem solve on their own (without always depending on mom or dad).
• Be your child’s guide, not their leader. Let them be the hero while you support them with life.
• Praise mistakes as learning opportunities. Try to refrain from jumping in and solving all your kid’s problems before they can learn from their mistakes.
• Show their learning. Ask your child questions about how they know something or have them explain their thinking. This kind of reflection helps them to make deeper connections.
• Finally, don’t race to the rescue and give your child all the answers in life. Get in the habit of asking guiding questions and let your child arrive at the answer him or herself. This will lead to greater confidence and feelings of success.

Do your best and give your child lots of opportunities to feel successful!

Are your kids ready for a learning adventure? Check out our Treasure Hunt Games:

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Shop our Treasure Hunts

Learning Escape Room Game Kits for kids:

Check out our educational escape room games and our lockbox game kit! Kids love the thrill of solving math, reading, and logic puzzles to get codes to unlock a final treasure. Make learning an exciting adventure! 

Escape boredom. Unlock learning.

Shop our Escape Room Game Kits