Comments on: Monopoly, Risk and a 10 Year Old Perspective on Strategy http://tdubner.com/2010/04/08/monopoly-risk-and-a-10-year-old-perspective-on-strategy/ Sun, 15 Aug 2010 16:50:09 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 By: Melissa O'Keefe http://tdubner.com/2010/04/08/monopoly-risk-and-a-10-year-old-perspective-on-strategy/comment-page-1/#comment-117 Melissa O'Keefe Fri, 09 Apr 2010 13:37:04 +0000 http://tdubner.com/?p=289#comment-117 Great observation! I, too, let my daughter, who is 6 and in the first grade, play on my iPhone when we're waiting at a restaurant, at the grocery store, etc. She mostly plays math games, hangman, and scramble. In her school they have weekly timed math tests of 100 problems, addition and subtraction. In 6 weeks of playing on the iphone app she has gone from taking 15 minutes to complete 100 problems with 5+ errors (and being near last in the class) to finishing in 5 mins or less with no errors -- almost always the best in class. And she loves it! We play Monopoly sometimes. She's a little young for some of the complex understandings that Sammy has exhibited, but she has displayed a preference for obtaining all the railroads early using that to keep other players from having the cash to erect houses and hotels. I'm surprised at how well that strategy has worked for her. The handheld technology market is full of mindless time fillers for kids. But sneaking in a little parental interaction and education seems a better way to go. Great observation! I, too, let my daughter, who is 6 and in the first grade, play on my iPhone when we’re waiting at a restaurant, at the grocery store, etc. She mostly plays math games, hangman, and scramble.

In her school they have weekly timed math tests of 100 problems, addition and subtraction. In 6 weeks of playing on the iphone app she has gone from taking 15 minutes to complete 100 problems with 5+ errors (and being near last in the class) to finishing in 5 mins or less with no errors — almost always the best in class. And she loves it!

We play Monopoly sometimes. She’s a little young for some of the complex understandings that Sammy has exhibited, but she has displayed a preference for obtaining all the railroads early using that to keep other players from having the cash to erect houses and hotels. I’m surprised at how well that strategy has worked for her.

The handheld technology market is full of mindless time fillers for kids. But sneaking in a little parental interaction and education seems a better way to go.

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