Games for Kids By Linda Stowe
Recently I read that toys and games are ways for kids to find out who they are. I knew these things were important in developing motor, social, and cognitive abilities and, of course, for keeping kids occupied. I was intrigued with the idea that children’s games are also instrumental in shaping the people they are to become.
With that in mind, I thought about the toys and games I liked when I was young. By far, the two I liked the most are playing jacks and twirling my baton. I had the manual dexterity to do each of these well, and maybe that is why I liked them so much. They were easy. I also liked riding my bike, but we had a limited amount of concrete on the farm and riding on gravel or grass was challenging and unpredictable.
Hula hoops were popular when I was a kid, but I was not able to move my body well enough to keep one going. Maybe that’s why I never got into dancing, although I did like to skate. We had a large number of puzzles, coloring books, and board games that kept us occupied. We even had a Ouija Board, which in some families was considered taboo. Also, our mother involved us in science and craft-type projects, none of which interested us. Over time we were exposed to music, sports, cooking, gardening, swimming, and too many games to mention. We even had a pony, a go-kart, and a pool table. We had costumes and acted out plays, we had school desks where one of us (me) got to play teacher. I can’t think of anything we didn’t have or were able to create ourselves.
With all those options available, my brother spent a lot of his time in the workshop taking things apart or putting things together. And I spent most of my free time sprawled on the couch reading. As it turns out, those are the interests we continue to follow today.
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Polly here. This made me think about how much the things of my childhood have influenced my “being” all through my life. Both good and bad.
We are formed when we are young. It is true. In the first eighteen months after birth, an infant makes miraculous progress. In this relatively short time span, as little teeny infants, we start to see the entire world through our senses, the sights, sounds, smells, tastes, touches. And from there, the information grows and grows.
I mean, it has been proven that the first five years of a child’s life are considered to be a critical period for their development. Especially in the areas of their physical, intellectual, and social-emotional growth.
Here is the big thing, though. During this time, our brains developed more rapidly than at any other time in our lives. The quality of our experiences during these years, both positive and negative, has had a lasting impact on many things: our brain development, our health, and our ability to learn and succeed in life.
So yes. Those toys certainly mattered. Along with so much more.
And here we are. Baby US. All grown up.
Games for Kids By Linda Stowe
