I strongly think that one job of kids is to play and have fun, have adventures. Adults should try to work and get things done. Kids "job" is to play. You think this is another "no duh" statement from Daddy here, but it's not. Think about for how many centuries children were just thought of as little adults and were treated that way. Even Freud. Even he thought of them as little premature sex machines just waiting to reach maturity to have sex. Just little adults "in training" for being an adult. Some of the literature still refers to them as such. But kids just need to be... wait for it.... kids.
Believe it or not, this is not so apparent even in our modern world. I am talking socially now, not medically, though there is great debate on whether kids should be treated with "adult drugs" for sickness.
At any rate, kids got to be kids. They have to play.
Therefore, the Christmas gifts for kids have to suit kids. I just think about it because all the gifts I received this year, besides a pass for the local swimming pool, were rather boring wishes. I wrote a letter to the fabled giver of presents that I would like, after world peace and peace between my kids of course, a new pair of long underwear, a long sleeve shirt, some new winter gloves, a winter hat (with the logo of my favorite band on it) AND a second weight barbell as I only have one. Wow. That stuff would bore the tears out of Santa. Or maybe make him laugh his butt off. I don't think of myself as a boring person, but maybe I am.
Likewise, games for my kids is what they need RIGHT NOW. My kids need to play and I want them to play. Of course they need new clothes too, but they get those any time of the year. They need games for Christmas.
At this point I have to be a "parent on guard" and say that I am unwilling to buy them Xbox, Play Station, Nintendo and the likes. Call me unknowledgeable and I don't know anything about these games, but it seems to me most video games use only your knee jerk re actions and thumb and finger co ordination. Maybe a little logic about where granny might be hiding with that knife or whatever. Take the older games, even card games, they take logic, thinking and a steady hand to play. Stratego takes logic and thinking. Even Battleship and card games, which are a lot of luck, take a thinking mind and some development in the brain to play. I admit when I was growing up I was addicted to Pac Man, but, its kind of useless. Super Mario brothers? None of those hold a candle to the likes of board games and Monopoly. Even Match Box cars take creativity and a bit of scientific thinking to figure out which car will go the farthest down the hill and how. Yes, I know I am being old fashioned and a bit daft even if some new video games use some logical thinking to play, take me as being an old fart, but the old board games, even Barbie, are what really help kids develop AND are great fun.
Anyway, to criticize the new video games compared to the old board games wasn't the reason of this article. The point was that video games or board games, you have got to give the kids what they want. Something fun.
And you know what? Its interesting to shop for them also. Just think, in five or ten years they are going to be boring teenagers who just want cool clothes or sneakers so they can be hip, cool dudes among their school peers. That will be the height of boring shopping for me. They say that kids younger and younger are asking for this stuff. Oh man. Get them a tank of tropical fish to take care of instead.
My friend bought his 15 year old son a (second hand) DJ record player. How cool is that? That is the
OK, but again, the simple idea I wanted to get across is the jobs of kids is to play. I know it is after the fact, Christmas was yesterday. But if you have to return some of the clothing you got them because it is the wrong size, why don't you also take a few steps down the mall or where ever to get them some game too. Kids need to play. They learn and they grow up, and they become adults... most of them.
Checkers. Get them an old fashioned game of checkers. Everyone should learn how to play Checkers sometime in their life.
Been listening to Christmas carols and classical music devoted to Christmas the past couple days including while writing this. Nothing but. Not even the Beatles album CD Santa got my girls again for Christmas, though I am Jonesing to hear that. We did watch, as we do every year, the cartoon version of "How the Grinch stole Christmas"
