Playing Games is Serious Business

Even though the subjects and materials change, the game has existed in every era and will continue to exist. However, new mothers sometimes have a hard time being creative in this regard because technology can capture both adults and children. However, it is not possible without games. Psychiatrist Assistant Specialist. Assoc. Dr. Onur Okan Demirci states that play is effective on both the physical and spiritual development of the child and says: “Game is important, but what the game adds to the child and what it takes away is more important. Games make great contributions to children's education and personality development. Today's childish play can create the respectable person of the future. Child; He gains his place in the family, how he is loved by his family, whether he is accepted by his friends, how it feels to be a member of society, how he should shape his behavior, communication, vocabulary, his role in life, experiences and habits, thanks to the games he plays since his infancy. In other words, these games lay the foundations for what kind of adult your child will become.”

THEY SEND A MESSAGE THROUGH GAMES
It is now scientifically proven that toys have positive or negative effects on children. real. Children send messages to their families through the toys they play with. For example, a child who grows up in an environment where there is plenty of violence and arguments within the family may start breaking his toys, make two dolls fight with each other, or use his toys as a means of violence. This is actually another way for the child to say to his parents, 'Look, I learned these things from you' or 'I am angry about something.'

Assist. Assoc. Dr. Onur Okan Demirci said, “First of all, an issue that I think should be clarified is toy selection... Should girls play with dolls and boys with toy cars? When choosing toys, do not discriminate based on gender. Living things have genders, not toys. For example, if you get angry or prevent your son because he is cooking or playing with cooking set toys while playing house, you will give the message that cooking is something specific to women only. This may cause it to acquire a gender-discriminatory character in adult life. Maybe you can prevent him from becoming a very good cook in the future or even from opening his own restaurant. Likewise, when you prevent your daughter from playing with a toy car, you give her the message that all car-related work belongs to men. In adult life, you can create a person who is afraid of driving and thinks he cannot do it. "You may have hindered someone who could have been a successful mechanical engineer by simply taking away his toy," he says.


THINK TWICE WHEN BUYING
Anything can be a toy. It doesn't have to be purchased with money or expensive. The point you should pay attention to when choosing a toy is; First of all, it should be suitable for your child's age, intelligence and physical abilities... It should be in a way that can develop your child's intelligence and abilities. They should not lead them to violence, lying or sexism.

TOYS THAT ARE NOT TOYS
Demirci said, “Families should take care of their children in order to silence them, to prevent them from misbehaving, asking questions, that is, from disturbing themselves.” Can provide mobile phone or tablet. Yes, these are effective in quieting children or preventing them from misbehaving, but they steal much more from the child's life. First of all, one of the greatest characteristics of a person is that he is a social being and can communicate with the world around him. By giving such non-toys to your child, you are taking away the most important feature that makes him/her human. "You create a person who is asocial in school life and adult life, who cannot communicate, and who fits his whole world into a tiny tablet or mobile phone," he says.

WHO IS THE BOSS?
While playing games. If you created the game, you can determine the rules together with your child. Apart from its educational purpose, the game is also for entertainment. If the parent takes all the control, this game can become boring for the child. You should let your child manage the games as much as possible. For example, in a turn-by-turn game, you can help your child to embrace his/her role in the game by simply asking 'Whose turn is it?' "Stop going to shopping malls to entertain your children," says Demirci, adding that good weather means playing games outside with friends for children. For some children, this game may be a basketball or football match, for others it may be dodgeball... For younger children who cannot play these games, activities at family outings, picnics or playgrounds can be turned into fun games. Demirci said, “I have a suggestion for a good game that can be both educational and entertaining and can be played with the family: Making and flying a kite. "In addition, you can find hundreds of fun games and activities that you can do with your child, such as stopping, throwing darts, swimming, cycling," he says. The games you play with your child should have goals and rules. For proper development, the child should know these rules in advance and be guided to try to comply. In other words, parents should not make promises they cannot keep.
• The place where the game will be played should be a correctly chosen place, and the game should not be played in a place that contains danger elements.
• The game to be chosen should be fun for your child. Even if you are bored with the game, you should not show it to your child. Because a child that age may think that you are bored with him, not with the game.
• The game to be chosen should be neither too difficult nor too easy for the child. The speed of the game should be adjusted according to your child's capacity. Otherwise, your child may feel inadequate and incompetent. • No one should be allowed to cheat in the game. Even if you cheat as a joke or to be funny, your child may take it seriously and see the right to cheat.
• Families often allow their children to win games so that their children do not get upset. However, the child must learn to lose just as he knows how to win.
• You should definitely ask your child's opinion when choosing a game.
• Families should not try to correct the mistakes your child makes in the game. You should let the child correct the mistake.

GAME SELECTION BY AGE
0-2 years:During this period, the child begins to become aware of the objects around him and tries to play with every object he finds. This period is actually the period when the child plays games on his own. The child tries to communicate and recognize objects by making meaningless sounds and putting them in his mouth. Children in this period do not show much interest in the people around them, they play games entirely on their own.

2-12 years:From the age of two, the child begins to notice the people around him and imitate them. He especially watches the behavior of other members of his family and tries to do the same. For example; By watching his father shave his beard daily, he may start acting as if he were shaving himself. By watching her mother applying make-up, she can act as if she is doing make-up herself. These are all games for your child. For this reason, families need to pay particular attention to their behavior during this period because the child tends to imitate every behavior, including bad behavior. When a child approaches the school year, when he starts school, he will exhibit the good or bad behavior he learned from his family at school. Your child's game world will expand with the games played with his friends at school, as he begins to make a circle of friends during the school year. The games he plays from the age of eight onwards begin to become more realistic. The games will have rules and concepts such as victory and defeat will gain importance as a result of the games.

Above 12 years of age:The games become more realistic. . During this period, your child can demonstrate his skills and abilities in games. The feature of the games of this period is that the games have definite rules. The one who scores more goals wins, the one who talks while playing charades is punished...