Haven't posted anything in awhile as I've been rather busy. I haven't taken the time to really do anything fun, this blog included. I started thinking about relaxation and how people do many different things to relax. Some, read, some watch tv or movies. Others go visit friends or play sports. Some play games.
I started thinking of my boys. They are 10 and 13 and are typical for a kid in the US. They play video games. All the time. ALL the time. I play video games, so I'm not against them. In fact, the games they play are my games. My only concern is that is all they do. When they do go outside it is to ride their bikes or something and that's fine too. The problem I have is that they do not know how to play.
I gave my youngest all my old GI Joes and told him I'd play with him. He asked me "how?" I was taken aback. How? He simply did not know how to play with toys. I'm seeing a trend develop in toy play. Either kids are predominately playing video games or they are playing with building toys like LEGOs. My boys love LEGOs. I know that if I get them some of those they will enjoy them. Watching them play though I noticed a trend. After they construct the toy they just leave it. The fun part is over for them. To them, the point is to build the toy and once that is accomplished it has no further purpose.
This is a problem to me. To me, play is vitally important to the growth of imagination and intelligence. It's a form of mental exercise. Instead we have a (largely) dictated play style imposed on our kids. "Go here, do this" mission parameters with fully realized graphics do not allow kids to use any imagination. Toys are no longer selling like they used to. Kids now want tablets and video games and while that is good, I think kids are missing out on a vital part of development. It doesn't take effort to play a little. A child playing with toys with a simple story based on his or her favorite movie is far more imaginative than sitting down and playing a pre-written game.
I'm not against games though. I just don't want to see children go without what I think is a vital part of their development. Parents today should think about that and encourage their children to put down the controller and pick up an action figure.
