Category Archives: I play games for a living.

I play games for a living.

Yesterday, I was speaking with a young adult friend of my daughter’s and stated, I do not like video games and this is strange since I play games for a living. I explained that I am a speech and language pathologist and engage in play with the children I treat in order to achieve my treatment goals. I enjoy playing board games, pretending, and being silly. I do not enjoy swiping a cell phone or using a remote control to move objects on a screen. Although there is a place for video games in the lives of children, good old toys and board games are classic and important to a child’s development. Toys and games are social, three dimensional and hands-on which help develop an immense number of necessary skills. Just to name a few, these include building of dexterity, balance, coordination, turn taking skills, patience, sharing and fairness, symbolic play skills, spatial concepts, and good character including how to be a good sport.
As parents we need to remember to include a variety of toys and games in our children’s play room. Rotating the toys keep the toys fresh and interesting.