When I saw this initiative that the @holoslotus community shared, I found it interesting and important to highlight, because many times it is believed that games are for children, when in truth, they are a great contribution at different ages and playing every day brings more benefits than one could imagine.

Something that I have realized is that, since my nephew and a young dog have been in our lives, playing with them and even watching them play, has been a positive element, because it activates those emotions that we experienced as children. Playing stimulates creativity and clears any worries, anxiety and other existing moods, therefore, it is not something that is done at one stage of life and that's it; they stimulate both mental and motor activity and should be seen as an indispensable function in the day to day.

¿What happens to our emotions, attitudes and disposition when we play? As I have mentioned, games help reduce stress, increase self-esteem and happiness and foster positive attitudes in individuals, allowing social, physical, emotional and cognitive development through the skills, strategies and even teamwork that are employed in them.

In particular, I like traditional or manual games more than video games as such, although there are certain online games that contribute to mental activities, such as candy crush, crossword puzzles, chess, although the latter does not need internet or anything like that, but if you do not have anyone to play with, an online game helps a lot. The important thing is that these games help the memory, concentration and attention, to learn to solve problems in the best possible way and not give up at the first time; also to mental agility and to process things more smoothly and quickly.

My mom used to play crossword puzzles and word search puzzles a lot, it was like her favorite, until she stopped playing them for a while, because buying the magazines where those games came, or the books, was complicated; despite the attempts to teach her how to look it up on the internet and play it, she lost motivation and felt it was not the same, it was like her habit to grab the pencil and start her mind working. Now with his Alzheimer's, I realize that, maybe if he had continued playing, his mind would not be like this nowadays, it may not have something to do with it, but I have thought that, games are a way to make the mind keep working and for that reason, I regret not having insisted him to entertain himself with them.

From understanding a little bit, I leave my work for a while and play with my dogs, throw the ball or play hide and seek with my nephew, it is not that I leave my responsibilities aside, but rather I am letting my brain rest from all the information it extracts from the day to day and I activate my creative side and free myself from the accumulated tensions. I like that my nephew does not depend on having to have the latest generation games or a huge amount of toys, because even with a box he invents his own scenarios and characters and puts his imagination to work, which, in the long run, will work for the future, to use the tools he has at hand to achieve his goals.

In conclusion, games are not simple hobbies, they are activities that should be in the day, if you do not have board games, there are many ways to entertain yourself, the important thing is that we take the time to invest in our emotional health, instructing us in positive attitudes and navigate happiness and creativity.