The art of strategy

I know...I know...a lot of people think chess is boring or it's just for "nerds" but I beg to differ. On the contrary, chess can teach your child some essential skills from a very young age. Chess can help a young child develop good memory, intuition, creativity, analytic skills, deduction skills, problem solving skills, while promoting patience and a sense of calmness. You don't have to be an expert at chess but it certainly helps when you try not to let your child "win" every single time. It's true that they may get frustrated if they can't beat you or throw a temper tantrum. However, you can combat this by teaching your child what he/she could have done differently. You can borrow chess strategy books from the library or buy them at your local bookstore. Teach your child to first mimic and mirror those strategies. From those first few steps, your child will slowly progress in the game and actually learn to form strategies of his/her own.  A cool website is Chess Kids Academy. It allows your child to learn chess while playing with a computer and offers a bulk load of tools such as strategy sheets and what you need to start your very own chess club!!! Plus, getting a fun chess set from the store may do wonders for your child. We personally have our very own set of Transformers Chess Set!!! Try this out for your child. Who knows, it may lead your child to be the next genius! After all, "Skynet" was developed from a simple game of chess! :)