Special article Arch Argent Pediatr 2019;117(6):405-410 / 405 Jacks and other dexterity games in children and their parents Alfredo Eymann, M.D.a, Alejo Cavadas, Studentb and Horacio Lejarraga, M.D.b ABSTRACT tension and express feelings like Traditional games have changed with the anger, anxiety or frustration, and development of technology. We analyzed dexterity games played by children and their allows children to regulate their parents in general, and jacks in particular. emotions and communicate through A survey was administered to children different behaviors, thoughts, and aged 5-12 years and their families. A total of needs. Games are a chance for 109 surveys were completed; 91.7 % of parents referred that they had played jacks and that 4.6 % children to learn, discover different of their children also played it (p < 0.00001). Girls society roles, develop abilities, and played Chinese jump rope and ring-a ring-a roses understand and take in what they less often than their mothers, but football more learn. Therefore, playing games often. Boys played ring-a ring-a roses less often than their fathers. Besides, 28.4 % of parents did also becomes a “gratifying, fun, and 3 not play any dexterity game with their children. educational activity for children.” To conclude, jacks, Chinese jump rope, and Vygotsky defined games like ring-a ring-a roses are now less common; and a “changing activity that, above girls play football more often than their mothers. Parents do not usually play dexterity games with all, encourages a child’s mental their children. development.” By playing with other Key words: jacks, recreational games, generational children, a child broadens their ability shifts. to understand the reality of their http://dx.doi.org/10.5546/aap.2019.eng.405 social environment because they are continuously extending their zone of proximal development.4 Freud and To cite: Eymann A, Cavadas A, Lejarraga H. Jacks and other dexterity games in children and their parents. other authors have explained how Arch Argent Pediatr 2019;117(6):405-410. playing games contributes to process traumatic events and, in addition, it serves as a therapeutic resource for the clinical recovery of hospitalized “An unhealthy child children.5-8 Finally, some institutions is that who does not play.” that are focused on childhood claim Friedrich Schiller that “playing games is the most important activity in a child’s life.”9 INTRODUCTION Traditional games played in a. Department of Playing games is a constituent the past century have changed as Clinical Pediatrics of Hospital Italiano de element of human beings, it allows urban planning and technology have Buenos Aires. them to develop their symbolic advanced. Such changes have resulted b. Universidad de universe and motor skills, express in new game-related activities, forms Buenos Aires. their emotions, channel their fears, of entertainment, and bonding.10,11 1 E-mail address: and explore fantasies. It is much One of these traditional games Alfredo Eymann, M.D.: more common during childhood and is jacks. This is a group game that alfredo.eymann@gmail. contributes to children’s development. helps to develop skills such as visual com Games have been present in all and motor coordination, calculus, Funding: cultures since the Paleolithic era and respect for the rules, and social None. have even helped to develop complex interaction guidelines. Five pieces cultural manifestations, such as laws, are required to play jacks (uniform Conflict of interest: morality, and rules of coexistence.2 stones, balls, bone pieces, peach None. Piaget considered that playing pits, beans, corn kernels, etc.). Jacks Received: 2-3-2019 games was a valuable and relevant rules are described in Annex 1. In the Accepted: 4-14-2019 activity because it helps to release Americas, children of the Inca Empire 406 / Arch Argent Pediatr 2019;117(6):405-410 / Special article played jacks; its name in Spanish (payana) comes played jacks, if they had taught their children from the Quechua pállay (“to gather, collect from how to play jacks, favorite dexterity games when the ground”), also known as kapichua. Toba and they were their child’s age (tag, football, other Wichi children played it with pits or seeds, team sports, ring-a ring-a roses, cops and robbers, which helped them to develop manual skills and jump rope, hide-and-seek or Chinese jump rope), also learn to count. In Argentina, it is known as screen hours per day (TV + computer + mobile payana, payanca, chinapa, tinenti, dinenti, denenti phone + PlayStation or other electronic device), or tenenti. It is also played in different countries frequency of dexterity games shared with their worldwide and is called melakef (Morocco), child. The questionnaire for children included hameshavamin (Israel), handy-dandy (England), questions about whether they played jacks, their osselets (France), chinas or cantillos (Spain), favorite dexterity games, and the games shared matatena (Mexico), tiquichuela (Paraguay), pepitas with their parents (Annex 2). (Bolivia), pasote (Puerto Rico), etc. The study was approved by the institutional Although it has been played for thousands Committee for Research Protocol Assessment of years, the idea that nowadays children play (no. 3930). jacks less often than their parents led us to study Categorical data were described as absolute the transgenerational validity of this and other values and frequencies, while continuous traditional games. No studies have been found variables, as mean and standard deviation. The that compared the dexterity games played by statistical analysis was done with the χ² test children nowadays in relation to the ones played and the χ² test for trend. A value of p < 0.05 was by their parents or how they interact with one considered significant, and the Stata 14 software another. was used. Undoubtedly, pediatricians will play a better health care role if there is greater knowledge RESULTS about the games played by children in Argentina A total of 109 families were invited to and how parents and children bond. participate and none refused. One hundred and In this article, we propose to assess the nine surveys were completed by 87 mothers, prevalence of dexterity games in general, and 22 fathers, and the 109 children. All families jacks in particular, in a group of healthy children had health insurance (social insurance program and their parents. or managed care organization), and most had completed tertiary or university education. Table POPULATION AND METHODS 1 describes the characteristics of parents and This was a cross-sectional study in a sample children. of families with children aged 5 to 12 years who Overall, 91.7 % of parents said that they had attended their scheduled appointment to the played jacks at some time but only 4.6 % of their pediatrician’s office at a community teaching children played it (p < 0.00001). On average, hospital in the spring of 2018. Families were parents had played jacks for the last time at the invited to participate by convenience sampling age of 16 ± 11.3 years, and 22 % of them mentioned and the oral consent of the accompanying family they had taught their children how to play. member and the child’s assent was obtained. Table 2 describes the transgenerational trends The only inclusion criterion was that the child between the dexterity games played by their was healthy. Children with genetic disorders, children and by them at their children’s age. developmental disorders and/or chronic medical Girls preferred to play tag, hide-and-seek, cops conditions that required follow-up by a pediatric and robbers, and jump rope, whereas boys were specialist were excluded. more into hide-and-seek, football, tag, and cops A questionnaire was designed by two and robbers. Most mothers had played tag, hide- pediatricians: one part to be completed by the and-seek, and Chinese jump rope, whereas most family member and another one with the answers fathers had played football, hide-and-seek, and of the child, to be done independently from their tag. It was observed that girls played Chinese parents’. The first questionnaire considered the jump rope less often than their mothers and following outcome measures: age and level of football more often; boys played ring-a ring-a education attained by the family member, age and roses less than their fathers. Tag, hide-and-seek, sex of the child, whether they had played jacks in cops and robbers, and jump rope maintained their their childhood, how old they were when they relevance between parents and children. Jacks and other dexterity games in children and their parents / 407 Besides, 28.4 % of parents did not usually games (mostly PlayStation); 16 %, contact games play dexterity games with their children. Such (fighting, cuarto oscuro [hide-and-seek in the percentage was higher among mothers than dark], tickling); and 6%, symbolic games (dolls). fathers, 32.2 % versus 13.7 % (p = 0.003) (Table 3). The games children preferred playing with DISCUSSION their parents were grouped in the following In this study, we described the preferences categories: 52 % preferred dexterity games in relation to dexterity games played by with ball control (football, tennis, basketball, schoolchildren, the trends related to games that etc.); 39 %, dexterity without ball control (tag, remained or changed from one generation to hide-and-seek, biking, etc.); 57 %, board games the next, and the proportion of fathers versus (puzzles, chess, cards, etc.); 10 %, electronic mothers who played dexterity games with their children. The results show a marked transgenerational TABLE 1. Characteristics of parents and children reduction in jacks. Children play jacks much * Family member Mothers 87 (79.8) less often than their parents. A total of 91.7 % of Fathers 22 (20.2) parents played jacks, while only 4.6 % of their ** Age (years old) 42.6 ± 6 children play it now; a similar situation, but to a * Level of education Primary education 4 (3.7) lesser extent, was observed in relation to Chinese attained Secondary education 20 (18.3) jump rope and ring-a ring-a roses.