Learning can be all fun and games with these kid-friendly tools

We all have that friend who’s received her pilot’s license in helicopter parenting. She knows the name of every teacher in school and attends PTA meetings with a colour-coded folder to track academic progress. She’s banished gluten and processed sugar from her kid’s dabbas. And she only buys toys and activity books that are baby genius-approved.

While we may not all have the energy to keep up with helicopter moms, the one trick we can steal from their toolkit is investing in brain-stimulating games and activities for kids. “Play is the foundation of learning, creativity, self-expression, and constructive problem-solving. It’s how children wrestle with life to make it meaningful,” says psychologist Susan Linn. Adopting a ‘learning without lessons’ approach is effective, but not always easy for multitasking moms. So choosing the right games can make all the difference.

That’s why we were happy to chance upon the Elemeno Kids game, Write It, when putting together our first subscription box under the Tweak Children’s Book Club. The brand helps to shape childhoods with products that encourage interactions between generations and experiences that get kids to explore passion-driven professions. As an author looking to instill a love of books in her children, Tweak founder Twinkle Khanna enjoyed playing Write It with her young daughter. Each card in the word game has a combination of alphabets on it. Players are expected to list down words which contain the letters in the same order, trying to outdo their competition. This helps build vocabulary (yours kids’ sure, but yours too) and sharpen quick thinking.

If your kid is a baby Frida Kahlo, and uses your clean walls as their canvas, direct their energy towards Elemeno’s spotted colouring bedsheet. The washable, doodle-filled bedsheet comes with a set of washable stationery too. Avid readers will enjoy the brand’s personalised story book, where mom and mini-me can make themselves the main characters. It’s the kind of treasure your kid will enjoy reading, but also hold on to as a keepsake when they grow up, maybe even passing it onto the next generation. Talk about a family heirloom.