I'll never forget standing in line at Legoland for 45 minutes waiting for a 30-second thrill that my son was unwilling to pass up. He was bored out of his mind, but his strong will and thrill-seeking zest for life won me over, and I was willing to pay the price -- only because I had "Two Truths and a Lie" in my back pocket. Whether you love this game and forgot about it, or it's brand new to you, give it a try the next time your child needs a reason to stick something out.
2 Truths and a Lie:
This is fun whether you're the one telling lies or the one trying to figure out what's true.
How to Play
An adult starts by telling their child 3 statements about themself or the world, but one of those statements must be untrue. The goal is for the child to try to guess which statement is false. It's harder than it sounds (for the adult).
This game creates a great opportunity for kids to learn something about their parent's past or something about the world. Depending on their age, children can also take a turn trying to trick their parents. Good luck kids!
The skill it develops:
This game is great for developing memory and imagery, while also challenging their logic and reasoning skills. The guesser needs to hold 3 different pieces of information in their minds at once as they try to figure out which one is false and which ones are true. They'll need to lean on background information about their parent, and also try to imagine whether each statement could be true or false using logic and reasoning, which might fail them in a game like this.
The teller needs to say and remember all 3 statements, and then keep track of which ones are true or false without giving any hints, all while the guesser is busy guessing. It's not easy.
You can also figure out if facts work better than opinions. You could say "My favorite color is purple" but it might be safer to say "My first car was purple." When it's your child's turn to choose 2 truths and lie, they might get confused if they say "I love carrots" and that's something that changes by the day.
Adapting for age:
Give this a try with four-year-olds and up. Younger kids might need to start with one truth and one lie that is VERY simple and work up to statements that are more complex.
For older kids, challenge them to learn facts about the world. You could say facts (or lies) about history, science, and politics or stick to personal details that they're old enough to know.
Either way, have fun, watch time pass quickly, and keep your child entertained and engaged in the most boring of circumstances.
Click here for more ideas about how to set up a family culture of games and get links to more games.