At which age should you teach your child Go?

[AVAVT]

So my son just got his 1st birthday 2 weeks ago. This got me thinking. Since I'm pretty sure I want him to like Go (so I could get someone to play with when he grows up), I'm really, really wondering which age is a good time to introduce the game to him. I'm scared that if I teach him the game too soon he might hate it because it's too difficult, but if I teach him too late maybe he won't be as good as other kids in the club and will get bored & quit.

So what do you think? Normally when should one introduce his child to Go?

I also thinking about other things as well, like should I just teach him or should I get his friends to learn together too. That might be a double-edged sword, like if their friends quit he might quit too...

[Kirby]

When he's interested?

[AVAVT]

Well... that's true, but I don't think kid will get interested in mind sports voluntarily, do they?
I myself wasn't interested in any kind of board game until mid teen...

[Polama]

Children are incredibly curious: if you're playing go, they'll eventually want to play too. They might end up disliking it, but they'll at least try to mimic mommy or daddy's actions at some point.

My advice would be to follow the kid's lead. If they just want to put down stones for fun, that's a good place to start. If they're naturally competitive, give them a huge handicap and let them work there way up. They might enjoy replaying a game from a tablet or computer to a board. The next stone appears on the screen, they find where it goes on the board. If they enjoy, they'll ask to play. If they're cool on it, put it away for now.

When they first start, a 9x9 or smaller is probably all the attention span you can expect. Or lots of abandoned fuseki =)

My first is on the way, so I can't speak to the age they'll be ready, maybe 3 or 4? Old enough not to try to eat the stones, anyways.

[AVAVT]

Ah yeah, the thing about eating the stones. Is it true or just a myth I wonder. My son's very good at determining what's digestible. My goban's at the corner of my room and he had once spilt the stones on the floor, but aside from playing with them he didn't seem to have the slightest intention of eating... (I watched) He chomp down vegetables really fast on the other hand.

As for board size, I got a "Teaching go for kid" compilation from my mentor, it suggests staring with 6x6 or 7x7 board, I guess I'll just go with that. Oh and for the sake of reference the book also suggests introducing the game to your kid at around 4-6 yrs old

[DrStraw]

I think you are too late. I think his mother had to sleep with Invincible under here pillow during pregnancy to ensure osmotic absorbtion. Better, he should have been conceived over a goban.

Seriously though, I think you have to just see how children take it. I don't think you can force it. Play stones on the board in front of them (from Invincible of course) and let it happen naturally. If they are interested they will ask.

[Subotai]

Touya started at 2, that is when my child is going to start lol

[AVAVT]

Touya started at 2, that is when my child is going to start lol

I can assure you that 2 is too soon.

[Cassandra]

Touya started at 2, that is when my child is going to start lol

I can assure you that 2 is too soon.

I am sure that it depends ...

Most important is what DrStraw said: You must not enforce it !!!

There is no guarantee that your child finds Go attractive, just because you are a passionate Go player.

In the very beginning, there is also nothing wrong with letting your child "playing" with the material as it likes (e.g. building pyramids with the stones).

Please also note that it might be quite hard work for your child to sit still for a longer time, if it is very agile.

[Uberdude]

I remember Guo Juan 5p saying when she was a young child she liked to play with the Go stones and draw flowers with them.

[AVAVT]

Touya started at 2, that is when my child is going to start lol

I can assure you that 2 is too soon.

I am sure that it depends ...

Most important is what DrStraw said: You must not enforce it !!!

There is no guarantee that your child finds Go attractive, just because you are a passionate Go player.

In the very beginning, there is also nothing wrong with letting your child "playing" with the material as it likes (e.g. building pyramids with the stones).

Please also note that it might be quite hard work for your child to sit still for a longer time, if it is very agile.

This Penny Arcade comic precisely describe my current fear T_T
http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2015/ ... phenomenon

[Nyanjilla]

Ah yeah, the thing about eating the stones. Is it true or just a myth I wonder.

Dunno, but I used to play go with a Japanese woman who is the mother of a strong pro. She said she knew her sprog was destined for a career in go from all the stones she had to retrieve from the baby's nappy (diaper). Just make sure they aren't glass stones (to avoid sharp edges). Shell and slate seem to go through a digestive tract without suffering too much damage.

And Kobayashi Izumi says she was propped up in front of a goban at eight months.....

[Bantari]

Well... that's true, but I don't think kid will get interested in mind sports voluntarily, do they?

Thus, we have to force them... but at what age?

Seriously, I think it is best to expose your kid to as many different things as possible, but then encourage him/her to follow the things he/she shows interest in. In this respect, the only things a parent has control over and should enforce are: balance and moderation.

Balance: your kid should be exposed to a balanced field of things, i.e. both mental and physical, scientific and artistic, etc.
And Moderation: no single interest should overshadow everything else. This is where sometimes boundries need to be enforced.

On a practical side:
It might be your kid will never like Go. Or it might be he/she will love it from the first sight. Let the kid decide what it will be.

Just an opinion.

[lemonpie]

I remember learning chess when I was seven. I was so obsessed with the game that my grandfather gave me one of his boards and I would carry it around outside all day looking for opponents.

He would play me by taking off the queen from his side of the board and he always won quickly despite being a queen short.

[AVAVT]

And Moderation: no single interest should overshadow everything else. This is where sometimes boundries need to be enforced.

Why Bantari? We might have different point of view here, but I think if you try to keep your kid moderate in everything he might grow up to be a boring person with no actual hobby.

I remember learning chess when I was seven. I was so obsessed with the game that my grandfather gave me one of his boards and I would carry it around outside all day looking for opponents.

He would play me by taking off the queen from his side of the board and he always won quickly despite being a queen short.

Haha I guess you're kind of like me, the more you lose to someone strong you know the more you want to play with them. I had trouble teaching my wife Go because she'd always say "Why? You'd win anyway." and at that I have no real answer...