It has often been said that playing chess is a great way for a child to improve their brainpower. While having a lot of fun playing, the child’s mind is also trained to create and analyze strategies, which in turn improves her mental abilities even for other aspects of life outside the world of chess.
Due to the many benefits that chess can bring to children, many parents are interested in exposing their children to the game as early as possible. However, many parents also wonder if there is a right time to teach a child the basics of chess. Some say the sooner the better. But then others think it would be better to wait until the child is mature enough to better understand the concepts of the game.
Potential Problems of Teaching Chess to a Very Young Child
There are many avid chess players these days who claim that they started playing at the age of four or even earlier. While this can definitely be true in some cases, it is actually not a common phenomenon. Just take a look at the average four-year-old and you can easily see that they don’t even have enough attention span to listen to the rules of the game, let alone sit for long periods of time to play until the game is over. on.
If you manage to get your young child to play, it is recommended that you spend no more than 5 minutes playing the game. It doesn’t matter if you don’t finish. The important thing is that the child experiences the emotion of the game. As he gets older, he will start to remember how the pieces are supposed to move and will also be able to play longer and at a more focused level.
Aside from inattention, there are also other problems that can arise if you teach a child chess when they are still very young. For young children, for example, there is a possibility of choking if they swallow the part while you are not looking. This can be easily avoided, of course, if you only let them play with the pieces while an adult is watching.
Parents teaching a very young child chess probably don’t expect the child to understand the game right away. Its purpose is primarily to build familiarity so that it is easier to teach the principles of the game later on. But still, it is very important that you assess your child’s interest in play when she begins to expose it.
It is about whether the child is interested or not
Forcing a child to play chess will be very counterproductive. If you can feel that they are not interested at the moment, it is better to leave it at that and try to play with them another time. If you keep forcing them to play, you will only deter them from being interested at all. Instead, just try to lure them in subtly, and if they find it fascinating enough, they’ll ask you about it on their own.
At the end of the day, the most important factor that will determine whether or not a child is ready to learn chess is their interest in the game. If your preschooler keeps insisting that you teach him how to play, there’s no reason why he shouldn’t. Who knows, you may have the next big thing on your hands and not even realize it at the time. On the other hand, even if you think your child is old enough to learn, if he just doesn’t show any interest in the game no matter how hard he tries, it’s best not to force him and just support him in anything else. hobbies they put their hearts into.
There are many parents who have big dreams of their child becoming the next great teacher, perhaps because they were unable to live these dreams for themselves. There is nothing wrong with having dreams for your children, but if you push them to the point where you are already forcing them to do something against their will, you will end up frustrated in the end.
If you see great potential in your child, encourage him as much as you can, but never force him to play the game if he doesn’t want to. Chess is supposed to be fun and we better keep it that way for our kids.
It would also be nice to give your child his own chess set to further encourage his interest. There are many chess games that are designed specifically for young children. Most of them are small enough for tiny hands to grasp and are made of plastic so they aren’t susceptible to damage when thrown.