Game Traditions: Lessons for Life

American Journal of Play, 2009

Beginning with Lev Vygotsky's long-established assertion that the play of children always involves both imaginary play and rules of behavior, this article argues for a theoretical framework that connects such play with the construction of social identities in kindergarten peer groups. It begins with a discussion of Ivy Schousboe's model of the different spheres of reality in children's play to explain symbolic group play and applies the model to the play of a group of five-year-old kindergarten soccer players. The article finds that the soccer games of kindergartners and their negotiations of play rules intrinsically involve their social identities, both those that are real and those that are imaginary.

The Journal of Pan-African Studies, 2014

This paper is an attempt to show the richness embedded in the Shona children games. The Shona children games if not properly analyzed would pass for any other pastime activities for children. However, Shona children games were much more than pastime games. Through the various games, children were afforded the opportunity to exercise their bodies and keep them fit. Children games offered children a variety of skills and knowledge. Cognitive skills were developed as children got involved in games that challenged their cognition. Children learned issues of negotiation, skills to evade potential enemies, skills for quick problem solving and skills for dancing, all which were/are very important for their day to day survival. The games also taught them to live in harmony with others as well as to obey authority and to cooperate with others.

Acta Ethnographica Hungarica, 2000

Generally accepted as an entertainment and leisure activity in daily life, play has existed throughout history and has survived until today with its function covering individual and social life (Vatandaş, 2020, p.915). According to Ehrmann (1968, p.48), there was a game in the beginning. The beginning of play developed when people imitated what they saw in natural life. As a result of primitive people's struggle for survival, they developed hunting rituals by imitating them, and these were effective in the development of many games over time. Nutku (2011, p.17) divides the development of games into three basic principles: Imitation, action and collective participation. Games, which emerged as simple imitative behaviour, started as a simple field of activity and have maintained their continuity until today, becoming part of rituals such as belief, war and art over time . The famous historian Johan Huizinga (2021) defines the importance of playing games in human life as "homo ludens" (man who plays games). In fact, it is possible to consider human life itself as a game , p. 413). Huizinga (2021, p. 23) gives examples from drama and literature and compares the world to a stage where everyone plays their own role. In short, the play is perceived as life and life as a play (Hazar, 2021, p. 8). In addition, Huizinga (2021) defines play as an optional, voluntary action. According to Fink (2015, p. 14), play is not a fringe phenomenon in the realm of human life, a random phenomenon that only occasionally occurs. Play is essentially a part of the ontological structure of human existence; it is a fundamental phenomenon of vital importance. Based on this, it can be said that games have very different personal and social effects, from the physical and mental development of the individual to social development. Games are a favourite activity not only for children but also for young people and adults. This activity is one that supports and completes personal development in the childhood phase that begins with the

Children's games, their forms and contents, have been shaped by cultural and social patterns, while the content itself presents symbolic communication between society and its members -participants in the games. Contents of the games, as with games in general, do not represent a medium only between the society and its members, but also among the members themselves. It is through their communication process that the transmission of the games is happening, mainly among the memebrs of different generations, but also among the same generation group. During the transmission the contents do not remain unchanged, but the new elements are introduced which transform or reduce the content. These qualities of the games, like the qualities presented during their creation, transffering and manifestation, define children's games as a folklore form.

Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2015

Being a phenomenon as old and universal as human history, game is one of the basic needs of children. Depending on these needs, where is a child, there is a game. Children could combine all their knowledge and skills required for life through games, explain themselves in a very easy way and exhibit their skills. Game, which is the most effective learning process for children, is a real means of education and provides us with carrying the knowledge attained throughout preschool period and school years from one generation to another and support the development of children in physical, cognitive, linguistic and social-emotional aspects. In this perspective, the current study was carried out to evaluate traditional child games which are a part of Turkish culture and about to disappear in terms of development fields of children. The study is a descriptive survey and the data of the research was obtained through personal interviews. The data was collected through "Interview Form for Traditional Child Games". The population of the study was made up of young people and adults at the ages of 18-88 chosen randomly and living in the town of Ilgin, the city of Konya in the years 2013 and 2014. The data of the research was analysed in descriptive analysis technique which is used as a descriptive research method. At the end of the study, it was found that games contribute to the motor, linguistic, cognitive and social emotional development fields of children and to their self-care to a great extent.

Cross-Cultural Research, 1998

In their classic cross-cultural study "Games in Culture," Roberts, Arth, and Bush (1959) delineated a three-category classification for games (i.e., physical skill, strategy, and chance) as well as a definition of games. Both the classification system and the definition have become anthropological standards. Roberts et al. also found that several variables correlated with the presence-absence of different game types. However, the sample that Roberts et al. used was relatively small (50 societies) and nonstandard. The purpose of this study is to replicate the Roberts et al. study using codes for games for the Standard Cross-Cultural Sample. In addition, minor extensions of the results found by Roberts et al. are presented.

Frontiers in Psychology, 2021

Traditional games are considered agents of enculturation. This article explores the procedure to access the cultural meanings transmitted in a traditional game. The goal is to understand what children aged 6–11 make of the game called ‘the chained bear’ and to compare the meanings retrieved with those of different traditional versions of the game. For such a purpose, through an exploratory cross-sectional study, cartoons depicting people playing the game were exhibited and viewers (n = 359; age range: 6–11; Mean age = 8.79; SD = 1.81) were asked to interpret them as a drama play, as well as contributing a title, a plot and saying how they would name the characters. The results show that, beyond the individual images that each child created in their mind, most of them coincided in stories about harassment and defense and theft and protection. These plots match those of the ludic tradition, showing that the actions evoke different pictures to each individual, but share common cultural...

The purpose of this article is to analyze the state of modern research on children's play, approaches to its study, as well as existing methods of its evaluation. The relevance of the topic is due to the leading role of the play in preschool childhood and the complexity of this phenomenon. Play is actively studied, and play interventions are often used. However, the analysis of the literature shows confusion and uncertainty of terminology due to a large spread of theoretical positions and methodological approaches to the study of play. This creates great difficulties in planning and conducting research, and affects their results. The article deals with the issues of defining and classifying play, understanding its structure and development. The main trends of modern research and their connection with classical game theories, the role of cultural-historical approach and the contribution of E.O. Smirnova to the study of play are shown.

Child: Care, Health and Development, 2001

This paper draws upon research from a number of disciplines to examine the significance of children's play. It concludes that play may well be central to normal personality development. However, its place in contemporary Western society is not secure, perhaps risking the development and well-being of urban and disadvantaged children in particular. The symbolic play of preschool children has been described as 'the progressive internalization of actions. .. heretofore. .. performed on the sensorimotor plane', and is said to be a form of learning about the external world through a process of assimilation (Piaget ). Similar mechanisms may also assist other aspects of development. For instance, Sroufe () has argued that fantasy play allows the child to '.. . express vital feelings in a controlled context and by repeating experiences in varied symbolic ways, work through conflict and painful feelings. .. .'. As a consequence, '.. . a sense of mastery is gained through repetition'. Play is therefore 'a major tool for emotional regulation'. Indeed, this regulatory function may be evident in even very young infants who, through playful social behaviour, influence the relationship between parent and child and so their own emotional state (Trevarthen & Aitken ). It is likely that, at least in part, the therapeutic effect of play therapy derives from these learning and self-regulatory functions of play (Ablon ). In Piaget's view, the form and content of play and the developmental sequence in which play unfolds are universal (Piaget ). Nevertheless, play may vary somewhat according to temperament (Thomas, Chess & Birch ), parenting practices, gender or culture (Bornstein et al. ). However, recent