You see it’s good to have friends and relatives who are migrating.
Not that I encourage them to but…
Anyway my nephew was migrating to the kangaroo land recently and he left us a few piles of stuff.
One of the piles is old issues of a local magazine which targets primary school students.
(By the way, it’s called “Ge Mei Lia” if you are interested.)
The pile was left quietly untouched in one corner of the house until J and K took the effort to dig some issues of the magazine out on that one fateful day.
Out of boredom and curiosity, I took a copy and browsed.
“Boy, is it interesting!” I thought.
The comic in the magazine is interesting to read and yet it conveys a useful message to the young readers.
Anyway, that’s NOT my point of this article.
I found something even more exciting in this magazine and it really made my day when I tried it out with J and K.
When I played this with my kids, they couldn’t stop laughing.
And they begged for more.
In hindsight, it struck me that this is one of the best ways to bond with your child without the need to spend money and there are no toys/tools needed for this game.
Plain and simple.
But the reward is astonishing.
Want to know what it is?
Well it’s hidden at the bottom of some pages in the magazine: The brain teasers or IQ questions.
I ask J and K the questions and let them answer.
(Sometimes we reverse the roles.)
It’s funny how sometimes they come up with the answers. At the same time, I learn about these IQ questions too.
We laugh at the answers as some are really funny (especially the illogical answers).
It’s really a good way to spend time and bond with the kids.
Don’t tell me that I didn’t warn you. The game can get very addictive for the kids!
To give you a picture of the type of questions that we play, here is a list of 5 IQ questions I picked from the magazine (scroll down for answers).
STOP: Don’t peek at the answers yet but try to answer them yourself first to see how well you do.
Here they are:
1. Some people say you can prevent myopic by eating fish. Why?
2. A van is involved in an accident and everyone is injured. Why is John not hurt?
3. Two pairs of mother-and-daughter dine at a restaurant. Each one of them has to pay $70 for the dinner set. But they only pay $210. Why?
4. During a walk, Pete sees a $100 bill and a bone. But Pete only picks up the bone. Why?
5. News published in the newspaper is not all entirely true. But what is definitely true and correct?
Now try them on your child.
I am sure you and the child will be ROFL (ie: rolling on floor laughing).
For brain teasers or IQ questions for kids, a simple online search will yield more than enough questions to keep you and your child bonded like no other.
For more simple, cheap, and “low tech” bonding and play ideas, get a copy of my new book “The Nonconformist’s Guide to Parenting” which I just launched last Thursday:
The Nonconformist’s Guide to Parenting
Answers: 1) Have you seen cats wearing glasses? 2) He is not in the van. 3) The two pairs consist of 3 persons: grandmother, mother, and daughter. 4) Pete is a dog. 5) The date.
