Do you have a child who's afraid of the dark? Here's some advice for getting a peaceful night's sleep for the both of you:

1.Have the patience to deal with your kid's fear. After a long, busy day, it can be frustrating to try to coax a child to sleep so you can go to sleep yourself. Be mindful that your child needs your comfort and protection more than anything – and easing them through irrational fear is a step-by-step process. One night you’ll seem to have it all figured out. Days later you might be back to where you started (with your child clinging to you or standing at your door). Be patient.

Toddlers & Preschoolers

Count Your Chickens – Players work together to help Mother Hen collect her chicks and bring them back to the coop; if they are successful everyone wins!

Hello Sunshine – Hello Sunshine is a plush sun with a sweet smiley face and a Velcro-enclosed pocket on its underside. In the pocket is a group of 18 double-sided cards. Each card features a picture, along with matching text, of a hiding place for the 'Sunshine'. The object of the game is to draw a card and hide Sunshine wherever the card directs you to hide him. 

Hide and Seek – Attractive images of familiar objects are pictured on small discs. Put colored plastic discs over five pictures, roll the color die, and try to name what picture is under the matching disc. A good language, color, and memory game for two or more players.

Hi Ho Cherry-O – Round and round she goes. Hi Ho! Cherry-O is the counting game in which players race to be the first to have 10 cherries in their basket. A spin of the arrow determines your fate. It will instruct you to pick one, two, three, or four cherries from your tree and put them in your basket

Hungry Hungry Hippos – We all remember this game as kids! These four Hungry Hungry Hippos want to munch a bunch of marbles! The faster you press their tails, the more marbles they try to chomp. If your hippo gobbles the most, you win!

KeeKee the Rocking Monkey – KeeKee the Rocking Monkey is a simple and fun balancing game. It includes a twelve-inch wooden monkey with outstretched arms and a banana hat. The game consists of players taking turns carefully placing balls on the monkey until either he tips over or one or all of the balls topple from him.

Memory – This game comes in every theme these days. From Marvel Superheroes to Curious George, your child will learn about taking turns and matchmaking as they try to make pairs of familiar objects. Played alone, Memory is a quiet activity for developing concentration and memory. With more players, it's even more of a memory challenge to remember where the cards are that have already been turned over..

School-Age

Ambiguity – Ambiguity is a game that makes the brain squirm. The concept is simple—roll eight-letter die, set the timer, jot down as many words as players can make out of the letters—but mastering the game isn’t easy.

Apples to Apples – Select the card from your hand that you think is best described by a card played by the judge. Whoever persuades the judge that their card best fits the description wins the round!

Battleship – Dare to defeat the enemy fleet in this classic game of strategic combat. Command a fleet of five ships as you search out the enemy, fire at coordinates and score hits. Comes with 2 plastic fold-and-store game trays, 10 plastic ships, 84 red "hit" pegs, 168 white "miss" pegs.

Blurt! – Listen to a definition and race to respond! The first player to "Blurt" correctly moves ahead on the game board. Make it around first and you win!

Cat in the Hat, I Can Do That! – This is not your traditional board game. I Can Do That! comes with imaginative props inspired by the classic children's book The Cat In the Hat by Dr. Seuss, as well as a deck of color-coded cards that provide funny, challenging activities.

Chess – It’s an oldie but a goodie! All you have to do is learn the proper movements for each piece and play against an opponent. If you really enjoy it, you can compete in chess tournaments (they have them for ages 8 and up).

Clue Jr. & Clue – Give junior detectives a chance to solve the case with this specially designed game--a classic Whodunit for ages 5-8! Find the clues to find out who stole the cake and ate it, too! It's classic CLUE fun for kids! If you want a more challenging version of the game, check out Clue, a fun original version for older, more experienced detectives.

Connect 4 – The rules are simple: try to build a row of four checkers while keeping your opponent from doing the same. Sounds easy, but it's not! The vertical strategy creates a unique challenge: you must think in a whole new way to block your opponent's moves!

Cranium Cariboo – This game is an enjoyable way for your little one to learn the ABC's, numbers, shapes and colors. Each turn gives kids a chance to match fun drawings, unlock secret doors and discover hidden treasure. Designed especially for young children, ages 3 to 6 yrs.

Hedbanz – Got something on your mind? You sure do! It's a picture, but of what? Maybe you're a rhino, or a pitcher, or an apple?! You'll have to guess! When it's your turn, flip the timer and ask your friends as many yes or no questions as you can until the sand runs out.

Mermaid Beach – Soak up the fun down at Mermaid Beach! Join the colorful cast and see if you can collect the most seashell cards. A game that is sure to please all the little mermaids in your family.

Pictionary – Draw a card with a word on it. Flip the hourglass, and you have sixty-seconds to try to draw the word on the card! Whoever guesses the object first wins, and they become the next artist!

Scrabble or Scrabble Jr. – Score as many points as you can by forming words using the letters on the tiles. A classic!

Set Junior – SET Junior, a spin on the familiar version of SET, is a challenging board game for children ages 3 and up in which players must look at cards with different color items, shapes of items and number of items and determine if three cards make up a set.

What’s It? – What's It is a guessing game in which players team up and play against a character called The Doodler, instead of each other. The rules are basic. One player rolls a die to select the category, such as "You wear it" or "You use it." Then a Doodle card is flipped over and all players write down what they guess the doodle might be, according to the category.

Uno – Players take turns matching a card in their hand with the current card shown on top of the deck either by color or number. Special action cards deliver game-changing moments as they help you defeat your opponents. Be the first player to get rid of all your cards!

• Eager Readers - The editors here  have collected a list of good titles for all ages, based on books they have read and enjoyed - the cream of the crop. Some are very light, others richer and more serious, but all have qualities that make them fun, memorable, and exciting - not bland, stuffy, or boring. Many of these are in print and most are available at your local library. In order to help you find books to match your child's age and tastes, they’ve organized the titles by subject and reading level.
  
  
• Essential Books for Kids and Tweens by Common Sense Media – Common Sense Media consulted with teachers, librarians, and book critics to assemble what they consider essential titles for your home bookshelves or to download to your ereader, smartphone, or tablet. From the classics to more recent must-reads, fantasy to funny, they have more than 150 great book suggestions for your kids and teens.
  
  
• Reading is Fundamental – RIF is the largest children’s literacy nonprofit in the United States. They also have a great website with a “Book Zone” where kids (and parents) can search thousands of books by author, age or category. Every month they have a feature book and author as well as animated stories and songs for kids.
  
  
• Family Education – FamilyEducation.com has put together an age-by-age guide to all the classics every child should read.
  
  
• Scholastic – Scholastic has put together some great lists for children who reluctant to read, are early readers who might enjoy a series, best sellers and their best choices broken down by age.

Two Truths & a Lie... Remember this game? It's one of the many fun games you can play indoors with your family or friends, and the winter season is all about getting together for some indoor fun!  The players have to think of some facts and trivia about their lives (and also a lie). Of course, it's sometimes hard to play this with your own family because they know you so well, but it's a perfect game for the next game night, date night, party, or get-together. So, have fun … and enjoy LYING! Here's how to play: