Why Chess is must for your Child ?

Chess is a great game to start learning when you’re young. Not only is it a fun and intellectually stimulating pastime, but it actually has mental and physical benefits that will help children’s brains grow at a faster rate. You won’t get that from Candy Land!
Some parents feel pressure to teach their children how to play chess at an incredibly early age so that they can become prodigies and start winning tournaments by the time they hit double digits. We would advise against this approach, unless the child is particularly interested in chess. Parents should always go by the interest level of their child. If the child is simply not interested by chess and doesn’t find it fun, there’s no point in forcing them to play it.
Usually, forcing a child into learning something that they have no interest in doesn’t lead to child chess prodigies but rather resentful children that end up quitting chess completely as soon as they are able! If you want your child to have a healthy relationship with chess that will last throughout the rest of his or her life, don’t make it a chore. Only play as much as the child wants to, and if they’re not interested in learning now, try back in a few more years.

Importance of an Early Start

Many people feel that an early start at chess will give their child a competitive edge and the best possible shot at becoming the next Boris Spassky or Bobby Fischer. While this approach may be effective in some rare circumstances, it more often causes more harm than good. It’s important not to push your children too far too soon. Your desire for them to become that next big chess star is not enough – they have to want it for themselves, too and be willing and able to put in the work required in a healthy and balanced way. Remember, this is the only childhood that they will get! They need to have a good mixture of “training time” and “kid time” to become well adjusted adults.
Always remember; chess is a game, it should be fun!
So, its important to start your children on chess early, but only as soon as they’re ready. Some children may not be able to get enough of chess at the age of 4 and wake you up each morning at 6am, chessboard in hand. Others may be completely uninterested until they’re older, or they may never be interested. The important thing is that you introduced the concept to them and let them choose whether they wanted to engage with it further, without forcing them to do anything that they didn’t want to do. Always remember; chess is a game, it should be fun!

Well, What are You Waiting For?

If you’ve not yet introduced your child to the game of chess, now may be the perfect time! Whatever you do, don’t force them to participate if they’re not interested. Simply explain the rules in terms that they would understand, and see if they would like to try playing a game with you. It’s possible that their attention spans may be smaller than their interest, in which case you’ll need to be a patient teacher. Or, they may have no interest and prefer to spend their time doing other things. Don’t worry, you’ve planted the seed in their mind and in a few months or years you may find they come back to you asking about that chess game you were talking about before. Keep introducing the idea to your child at different intervals and see if they take the bait.

​On the other hand, you may have a child that can’t get enough of chess! They may be asking you, their friends, and their siblings to play at any chance they get. If their interest in chess outweighs your own, you may want to consider enrolling them in a chess program or getting them a private chess teacher so that their skills can grow and you can have a break from the chessboard.