Bawas Screen Time! 7 Pinoy Games To Develop Your Kid’s Social Skills, Starting At Age 4

• Every parent wishes for their child to grow up successful. But as they’ll soon discover, honing social skills is a better driver for success than high IQ and academic excellence.

  A 2015 study found that “kindergartners who demonstrated social competence were more likely to graduate from high school, go to college, get a job, and stay out of jail than those who showed a lower level of social competence.”

  Pinoy games that can help develop social skills during the pandemic

  The best thing you can do to improve your child’s social skills during the COVID-19 pandemic is through play. Now is the best time to introduce them to traditional, Pinoy games that we grew up with. It’s also great way to get them off their screens!

  Here are some Filipino games to get you started.

  1. Hand clapping game: Nanay, Tatay

  Benefits

  • Endurance
  • Motor skills
  • Focus

  Form a circle with your child, clap each other’s hands in routine and sing, “Nanay, tatya gusto ko’ng tinapay. Ate, kuya, gusto ko’ng kape. Lahat ng gusto ko ay susundin ninyo. Ang magkamali ay pipingutin ko.”

  Repeat the chant. After each round, each player shall clap their hands according to the number of times the chant was repeated and then yell the number of claps made. Finishing the tenth round, the players will then freeze. First player to move loses!

  2. Piko

  Benefits

  • Balance
  • Motor skills
  • Physical fitness
  • Aiming skills

  What you’ll need

  • Chalk
  • Pamato

  Using chalk, players must draw the desired piko illustration. They will then stand in front of the piko illustration and take turns tossing the pamato near the line inside box no. 4. The player who tosses the pamato closes to the line gets to play first.

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  The first player will toss their pamato to the first box and hop all the way to the last box (box number 10). The player and the pamato must not touch the box or the player will lose a turn.

  When the player reaches box no. 10, they will hop back to the first box to get his pamato and jump back to the starting line. They’ll then toss the pamato to boxes 2 to 9 and continue the same routine until they finish all the boxes.

  After playing the entire piko, they will toss the pamato to pass box no. 1 and hop over all the boxes to the starting line. They’ll pick up the pamato, turn their back against the play area and toss the pamato toward the boxes. Whereever the pamato lands will become that player’s “home” or “bahay.”

  The game starts all over again for the first player while the rest continues the game where they have left off. The first player with the most number of homes wins.

  3. Taguan

  Benefits

  • Patience
  • Strategic thinking

  The objective of the game is for the “taya” to find all the players who are hiding. He will stay at the base and count up to ten while other players hide.

  After counting to ten, the taya will search for the other players. The game ends after all the players are found. The person who is found first will be the taya in the next round.

  4. Luksong Tinik

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  Benefits

  • Motor skills
  • Physical fitness
  • Balance

  Two teams composed of three players is needed for the game. The objective is for all players in a team to jump across all levels of the tinik without tripping.

  Two players who are taya will sit facing each other with their right foot touching, creating a tinik. Players need to jump across the tinik without touching it or without getting tripped.

  When the team successfully jumps over the tinik, they will move to the second round where the taya will stack each of their left foot on top of each other to make the tinik higher. The taya will stack their hands as the players level up.

  If the players touch or get tripped by the tinik, they will lose their turn and be the taya. The team that successfully finishes all the levels will win the game.

  5. Finish-finish or Paway

  Benefits

  • Motor skills
  • Strategic thinking
  • Aiming skills

  Players in the starting line must remove the slipper placed on the line by hitting it with another slipper. The game will end when everyone hits their slippers out of the line.

  The last player who hits the slipper out of the finish line will face a consequence.

  6. Bente Uno

  Benefits

  • Physical fitness
  • Motor skills
  • Social skills

  The goal is for the taya to tag all players, making them part of his or her group. The taya will count to ten and start chasing and tagging players of the game.

  When the taya tags a player, he or she becomes an ally who can tag everyone else until all players become a taya.

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  7. Langit lupa

  Benefits

  • Coordination
  • Physical fitness
  • Strategic thinking

  Think of it like the game “The floor is lava.” The objective is for the taya to tag players while they are in the ground or lupa.

  The taya will chase and tag the players at the level ground or lupa. The taya cannot tag players standing on high places or langit. The tagged player will then become the taya, and the game will continue.

  Want to introduce classic Filipino toys to your kids? Click here for a list!

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