Kid Game

We live in times when the innocence of childhood is being lost earlier than ever before. What can we as parents, grandparents and caretakers do to postpone the inevitable? What can we do to create memories and experiences for our children (and ourselves) to treasure for a lifetime?

Get outside as much as possible. It was a beautiful, rainy, Spring day here in Northern Arizona and I needed to return some books to the library. However, when I pulled into the parking lot, I didn’t jump out of the car and dash into the library right away. My attention was captured by the site of a small boy, probably about two years old, playing in the adjacent park. Between the library parking lot and the shady park, runs a small gully. On a wet day such as this one, water coursed through that grassy gully. The object of my attention was dressed in a hooded slicker and rubber boots. He was wading in the water and floating sticks down the stream. Now I could plainly see that on frequent occasions the water was trickling down inside those little green rubber boots. I felt sure that the boy’s caretaker (grandmother?) watching from the bank also knew that she would be peeling soggy socks off those little feet when they got home. But weighing the options, she had decided that wet feet were a bargain in exchange for the glorious experiences of the day.

Find a park, drive to the forest, spend time next to rivers, lakes and oceans. Take along a good book and let your child romp in the outdoors. Even if you can’t get away very often, make sure that when you do, the outing lasts long enough for satiation to set in. Of course, with some children that might mean spending the entire day at the playground. To avoid unpleasantness at the end, agree on a time limit before you go and give a 15 minute and then 5 minute warning when the time to leave is approaching. And then stick to it!

Don’t mind a little mess. Creativity and imagination need stretches of uninterrupted time and sometimes the creative processes require a few props. It can get pretty messy! So make a plan. Designate an area for capricious play, “No toys in the kitchen or dining room!” Only one type of toy out at a time, “Put away all the action figures before you get out the legos.” Have a time frame, “At 5:00 everybody stops what they are doing and we become a clean team.”

Read stories, tell stories. Of course, read to your children. I especially like fables and fairy tales. Reading together is fun and can often provide one of those “teaching moments” giving you the opportunity to discuss the morals and messages behind the story itself.

But don’t rely on books alone for your stories. Tell some of your own. Children love to hear stories of the things they did when they were younger. They also love to hear stories of your own childhood. Here’s a story my dad used to tell us.

He was one of six children growing up on a busy farm. Everyone worked hard. It was the end of the summer and Grandma (dad’s mom) had been working in the hot kitchen all day preserving food in jars. When dinner came around she was especially tired and cranky. In her super-sensitive emotional state, Grandma felt unappreciated. It seemed that everyone had something negative to say about the meal. She cracked! “The next person who says anything critical about my cooking will be preparing all the meals from now on!”

The table was a quiet place after that. For weeks everyone talked in hushed tones and made pointed compliments about the food, but Grandma had not forgotten her threat. The family was sure of that!

Dad’s oldest brother, my Uncle Lee, was the kind of person who liked to stir things up a bit. He knew that dad’s other brother, my Uncle Paul, was an impulsive sort and often acted and spoke before thinking. The evil plan was hatched. Uncle Lee dumped a mountain of salt into the pot of beans cooking on the stove and waited for dinnertime to arrive.

Sure enough, when a forkful of those beans went into Uncle Paul’s mouth, he shouted out, “Whew, these beans are salty!” Then my dad would mimic the facial expressions of Paul as he realized what he had done and quickly back-pedaled by saying, “Just like I like ‘em!”

I can’t guarantee that this story truly originated in my Grandmother’s farm house, but we enjoyed having dad tell it time and time again.

Play games. Board games, card games, active games, educational games, silly games, all of them are good. Games are invaluable for learning important life lessons such as sportsmanship. They can also be used to teach a wide range of subject matterMath, Science, Social Studies, Language, there’s a game for all of them. If your budget is tight, check with your local library. If they don’t already offer puzzles and games for checkout, maybe they just haven’t thought of it!

Are you physically able to get down on the floor to play? Do so if you can. Putting yourself on the same level as a child is powerful non-verbal communication. A child is much more likely to open up when you do so. The experts will all tell you that it is more important to be a parent than a friend to your child, and I will agree with them. The thought I would add, however, is that you do want your child to see you as an ally. Knowing that he or she has someone to talk with and depend on is vital to a child’s confidence and self-esteem.

Keep an art box. Put in crayons, paper, markers, scissors, paint, glitter, glue. Also put in differently-shaped cardboard boxes, rolls from paper towels, toilet paper and wrapping paper. Collect pinecones and bottle caps to add. Anything you can think of, really! Find an old sheet that you can use to cover the table or spread out on the floor. Who knows, you may frame that sheet one day!

Have a dress-up trunk. Save old Halloween costumes. Large scraps of fabric become capes or princess gowns. Hats and scarves of all sorts belong in your dress-up kit. Do you have any old make-up that can be donated? Next, find a book of plays or act out your favorite story. You may not even turn on the television for a change!

Use parental-control media devices. Well sure, they are going to see and hear it sooner or later. But the point is to make that later instead of sooner. Find out what the ratings are and then develop a plan for adding more levels as your child matures. Include the children when making the plan. Rules that you helped develop are always easier to follow.

Perpetuate the silly childhood myths such as Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, etc. It’s not lying, it’s make believe. Children understand the difference. Many children enjoy pretending they still believe long after the truth is revealed. And most older children will continue to pretend with younger children who still do believe.

Bake cookies. You have to do it, even if they are from pre-made cookie dough. The sticky texture of the dough, the delicious smell wafting from the oven, the sizzle as a too-hot cookie touches a wet tongue, and the extra crispiness of the last batch that got left in the oven too longall these sensations will contribute to lasting memories of a sweet childhood!

Our childhood years are few in comparison to the decades of adulthood. Special and precious, let’s do all we can to make those years positive and memorable.

Jean Fisher - http://www.whatsfordinner.net

Jean Fisher is a former elementary school teacher. Her website >What’s For Dinner?< provides a dinner suggestion for each day of the week, a customizable grocery shopping list, table topics and quality time activities.

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Drawing a line between what is right and what is wrong is the responsibility by parents to their children. This also goes with what type of movies and television shows the children should watch and what are not. But more importantly, the responsibility of choosing the right kids games solely relies to the parents. Since kids would want to play, play, and play some more, providing them with toys and kids gadgets are essential. And while studies suggest children who play more are healthier than those who do not, it does not give children the freedom to play any type of game they like.

As we live in the digital world, children are introduced with video consoles that would probably eat more of their time than their studies do. And protecting them from unfit games at their age becomes more difficult than before. And to make sure you provide them with the right kids games, consulting the ESRB should be help you decide.

To know the type of video games that are proper for your child, consulting the ESRB rating is a wise choice. You can see the ESRD rating printed at every video game covers. Knowing the meaning of every initial is essential.

There are 7 ratings assigned by the ESRD or the Entertainment Software Ratings Board. Here are those:

EC or Early Children. The games with this rating are suitable for children age 3 years and below to play. Such games have no content that could be dangerous to a developing child.

E or Everyone. Everyone here means the age bracket of 6 years and above. The type of games with this rating contains minimal violence with occasional use of mild language.

E10+ or Everyone 10 years and older. Games with this rating are suggested for children 10 years and older and contain cartoon, mild violence or fantasy, and use of mild language.

T or Teen. For children 13 years and older do T rated games are suited. These types of games involve more violence, minimal blood, use of strong words, and crude humor.

M or Mature. Games with these rating are suited for ages 17 years old and up. Mature games are not for kids for it have graphic display of violence, sexual content, blood and gore, and use of strong language.

AO or Adults Only. Games with this rating should not be played by kids. It is intended for adult players for it displays frequent blood and gore, violence, use of strong words, and graphic display of sexual content including nudity.

RP or Rated Pending. This rating is given to games waiting for final rating.

Kids games should only limit to video games with EC, E, and perhaps E10+ ratings. Any games without these ratings should be avoided. If you have games you think inappropriate to their age, put it in areas where they cannot access it. Playing the right games for kids must be imposed at all times. This will ensure that they get the right games with respect to their age.

Kids games let your children enjoy their playing time at the same time providing them with entertainment and venue for learning. And with kids games around, you are secured to leave them in front of their consoles alone without worrying so much of the content of the games.

Robert Thatcher is a freelance publisher based in Cupertino, California. He publishes articles and reports in various ezines and provides kid game resources on http://www.all-kids-games.info.

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Free online computer games do not only cater to teen-agers who are interested in games with sophisticated and often complicated plots. There is also a large number of websites that offer free online computer games to kids below the age of twelve.

These games combine learning and fun so those children who play them not only enjoy playing the games but also become familiar with computers. The games that are offered on these sites include kids’ games such as jigsaw puzzles, activities, coloring pages, and other simple games.

It is also hoped that as you access these sites and download their games, you and your child can play the games together and foster more learning, as the games are pleasing and appealing to the senses. These websites also provide printable coloring pages and activities that you and your child can work on, even if you are not online. These webpages often have thousands of pages that can help teach your child different lessons, and the games are updated on a regular basis to keep your child interested.

These websites also help your child become more familiar with different events such as holidays and historical events; the games are tailored fit to highlight the importance of such events. These websites have also been designed to cater to the whole family; some activities and some of the games that are available may involve both parents and their children.

Along with the popularity of other types of games that are available online, games for kids also enjoy a certain level of popularity, especially among parents who value the need for their children to learn the basics of using the computer at an early age. By combining learning and fun, these games will continue to flourish as more parents and people gain access to technology in the near future.

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