Games from Generation X to Generation Z

In this study, it was aimed to reveal the progress that the games follow in the process of transferring from Generation X to Generation Z. Being a qualitative study, interviews were used for data collection; interviews were conducted with 10 participants and the data was analysed using descriptive analysis. According to the results of the analysis it was found that the games played had significant differences in terms of content and venue between generations, where an apparent break from the nature occurred; children of Generation Z have a tendency towards indoor games. Therefore, taking measures allowing the children of Generation Z to spend more and high-quality time in nature may be effective on directing children’s indoor tendency towards outdoor.


Introduction
The game, which is defined as an intelligence and talent developer fun, has certain rules and it serves to have a good time; being a tool that develops children's mental and creative skills, it can be used as a physical tool [1][2]. By virtue of the game, the child develops physically, socially, mentally, linguistically and emotionally [3]. As the child feels comfortable and free in his/her surrounding, he/she will get the opportunity to develop his/her creativity and aesthetic sense by means of game [4].
According to Boreham and Riddoch, (2001) games are among the most important activities that ensure social, mental and physical positive development of the children. Outdoors is the best environment for the children to execute it [5]. As the children interact with the nature, they get the opportunity to practice various nature sports, allowing them to be raised as a sensitive individual who can approach people and other living beings with affection, who can perceive life more meaningfully [6]. Or as stated by Rivkin, (1995) interacting with the nature has significant importance for the development of the child and outdoor playgrounds further enhance this interaction [7]. Open areas and natural environments contain dynamic and challenging playgrounds in itself. For example, in topography with slopes and cliffs, there are natural obstacles, bunkers, trees and meadow areas with which children have to cope [8]. These are among the most suitable environments that children are on the move. It is highly likely that positive social, psychological and phycological changes will occur in the children who interact and play in these environments.
Open areas and the activities conducted there, especially when they are designed according to age, areas of interest and needs of the children, allow children to spend their time effectively in both physically, and mentally [9]. In the 1980s, two psychologies from Michigan University (Rachel and Stephen Kaplan) suggested that spending time in nature have significant psychological benefits. In addition, according to Kaplan, (1995) and Kaplan & Kaplan, (1989) the theory called as "Attention Restoration Theory" (ART) argues that the nature offers a regenerative environment through volunteer participation and through the tasks requiring attention, where people can be recovered without getting tired [10]. Open areas ensure physical and mental improvement and development as well as physiological improvement. According to Andersen et al, 2004 (imparted by Stratton and Mullan (2005)) who presented evidence proving this, low physical activity in childhood is associated with specific health problems such as osteoporosis [11]. Similarly, Goran, Reynolds and Lindquist's (1999) experimental intervention studies demonstrated that regular exercise and activities affect children weights [12]. In the study performed by Andersen, Crespo, Bartlett, Cheskin and Pratt (1998) a relationship was revealed between watching television, physical activity and body structure and the body mass index of the children, which was found to be higher among the children who watch TV more and who are involved in activities requiring less physical power or effort. Usually, less physical activity and more obesity were observed among the ones who live in unadvantageous regions [13].
Cunning-ham et al., (1996) have conducted a research with 8-12 years old children and found that 53% of them play around their house, 24% in open and natural areas, 17% at parks and playgrounds, and 6% at the streets [5]. Similarly, in a research conducted in Australia, with 421, 5-12 years-old children, it was found that 59% of the children prefer their own house or a friend's house as playground, whereas 23% prefer to play in the park and 9% at the street [14]. There are many factors leading to this phenomenon. One of the factors may be the concerns of the parents about security [12]; another one is the changes occurred in technology [15].
Parents buy computer to home for offering better education alternatives to their children and get internet connectivity [16]. According to TSI (TUIK) data, the results of Household ICT usage survey in Turkey showed that 80.7% of the households in Turkey have internet access and this ratio indicates that eight out of every ten households in Turkey have Internet access. The number of electronical household equipment increases as the education level of the parents increases [17]. While used correctly and as intended, the internet contributes to the individual in a positive way; on the other hand, loneliness, staying awake till late and fatigue are mentioned among the problems caused by internet [18]. Especially, excessive and inappropriate computer and Internet use of school-age youth may create negative effects on their psychological and physical development, social relations; it may also cause negative effects on both their academic and personal development. What is important at this point are: the independence of the individuals who use internet disappears in time; the dependency shows up with the failure of doing things that the child normally does due to the time spent on the internet; health issues arise with improper and excessive usage; disruption in family relations, lack of productivity and academic failure begin [19]. Nowadays many computer games and social media include the applications allowing having fun time; they let the children to become distant from the nature, which is the most important negative effect of the internet on the children. However, Internet or technology is not the only factor that causes children to move away from the nature. Urban sprawl, misuse or devastation of the natural environment, building structured playgrounds, lack of neighbourhood relationships or wrongly established neighbourhood relationships due to the high population and apartment culture, alienation from the immediate environment cause the playgrounds of the children to change. This plays an effective role on the children to prefer home for playing game or spending time instead of the nature. This situation began to attract more attention in recent years; the studies addressing nature-child relationship began to occupy more places in the literature. However, the works examining the changing of the games and playgrounds with time, along with the factors that causes this change are quite rare. Therefore, this study was conducted to identify the games that today's mothers were used to play in their childhood, the games that their children play at the moment, and to evaluate the similarities and differences in different dimensions. So, the changes on the playgrounds, on the games played and on the content of these games, on the time spent in nature and the factors affecting to spend time in nature were addressed. In this regard the following sub-problems were addressed: 1. What was the structure of the games that mothers have played in their childhood? 2. What were the factors affecting mothers' playground location selection in their childhood? 3. What king of changes do mothers observe in the games played since their childhood? 4. What is the structure of the games that mothers' children play? 5. What were the factors affecting mothers' children's location selection for playing?

Methodology
This study was designed as a qualitative research. Qualitative research is a process of understanding based on distinct methodological traditions of inquiry that explore a social or human problem. The research builds a complex, holistic picture, analyses words, reports detailed views of informants, and conducts the study in a natural setting [20].

Study Group
The study was conducted with the faculty members of a university located at Black sea Region. Convenience sampling method, where researcher aimed to collect data from an easily accessible sample, was adopted for this study [21]. Mothers from X generation, having children of Z generation were considered for interviewing. The workgroup consisted of 10 academician mothers (from Generation X), having children of 6-12 years old (Z generation). Generation X describes the people born between 1965-1980, whereas Generation Z describes the children born after 2000 [22].

Data Collection
Before initiating data collection stage of the study, the forms concerning the approval of the ethic committee were filled to get the necessary permission; data collection stage was initiated after the discussion and approval of the project in the ethic committee. A semi-structured interview form was employed as the data collection tool. Interview means collecting information from relevant people around the questions addressed in the research and provides in deep information about a research topic or a question [21]. In order to ensure the reliability and the validity of the questionnaire, the questions covered in the questionnaire were first asked to someone outside of the workgroup, and the interview form was finalized according to her responses. Before giving the final shape, two experts from the field were consulted; the data, analysis results and interpretations were presented to them and the study was finalized according to their feedbacks, which is a significant step for ensuring the validity and reliability. The questions included in the interview form have been prepared by the researchers and they were asked to the respondents. Interviewer might also ask additional questions to get further information about the issue [23]. Each interview lasted for around 15-30 minutes; they were recorded by an audio recorder after getting the permission of the interviewee. The data was converted to written form following the completion of all interviews.

Data Analysis
Descriptive analysis approach was adopted in data analysis. The aim of descriptive analysis is to present the data to the reader in an organized way and interpret them. Obtained data was systematically and clearly described, the descriptions were explained and interpreted, cause-and-effect relationships were examined and conclusions are reached [23]. The findings obtained by the researchers were organized to explain sub-problems. For this purpose, all the data obtained from the participants were interpreted by the researchers and the common ground data were gathered under the same heading. The statements included under each heading were explained in the context of cause-effect relationship and these data were presented in the finding section, under different headings.

Findings about the Games those Mothers were
Used to Play in their Childhood

Games those Mothers were Playing in their Childhood
In this part of the study, mothers were asked to state the games that they were playing in their childhood. Based on the statements of the mother, it was found that they were mostly playing skipping rope, dodgeball, running contest, hide and seek, stopped ball, playing house, jumping rope, line, tag, godelek, playing tag, higher than the floor, taking scene and singing, teacher-student role playing, puzzle, charade, soccer. These games have retained their place as quite popular games played by children from the past to the present day. The remarkable aspects of these games in terms of this study are the places they have played in, people, and content. Regarding the locations where these games have been played, it can be said that they were mostly played outdoors, in front of the house and in the gardens. The evaluation of the games in terms of the people indicates that they were the games mostly played by children in groups, hence they can be considered to be significant in terms of socialization. A child, who was supposed to play alone, also prefer to play outside, which shows that nature was a centre of attraction for the child during that era. The statements of the participants on this topic are as below: H1: When we were child, we prefer the places that we call outdoor. In fact, indoors were quite narrow and we only had a few dolls to play with. But outdoors many games with rope, ball were possible, we were living in a street with few traffic. We were with friends there (we were also a big family

Preference of Game Venue
In this section of the study, mothers have been asked about their favourite place for playing games when they were kids. By using the answers provided to this question, we tried to determine whether the mothers used to prefer playing in the nature, and if not, the venue they preferred. All of the mothers have stated that they have mostly preferred outdoors (nature) to play their games. Even though some participants said that they used to play in their homes too, it is possible to say that they were spending more time outside than inside. They also said that they there were times that they did not want to go home at all. Participants have stated that they preferred to play in the neighbourhood, on side streets, in front of their apartments, on alleys and gardens. Even though some participants stated that they were playing at home, their first preference was playing in the nature. This can be associated with the attractive power of nature. The expressions of the participants are as follows:

Description of One of the Games Played
Participants have been asked to describe one of the games they used to play as a kid. The purpose was to see whether they were playing outdoors and how they were playing it. In this sense, we tried to reveal how much time they were spending outside to what extent they were making use of outdoors, whether they were making the nature a part of their lives and so on. Regarding the answers provided by the participants, it was understood that tree shells were being used in the games played, stones were used as toy pots, pans, furnaces etc., broken marbles, bricks and roof tiles were used, electric cables were used for making toys and cement was used to make cakes, and they were selling the plants that they have collected. It was evident that all the games played by the participants were played in the nature by using natural materials, natural materials were used to make toys, and hence the creative sides of the participants were put into use. This is an indication that the nature was not merely preferred as a playground, but it was also a source for making toys and play materials. Considering that the participants did not have many opportunities to have toys during their childhood, they were clearly turning their needs into creativity by making their own toys and using natural materials to make those toys. The expressions of the participants on this issue are as follows:

Person or Persons that were Influential When
Selecting the Venue to Play When selecting the play venue is something that can be done by the child himself, however it is not impossible to think that the parents were also involved in the process. In this part of the interview, the participants have been asked about the person or persons that were influential in selecting the venue for the game to be played. The purpose of directing this question was to determine whether they were free to select the venue for the game to be played and to determine the influential party on the interaction between the child and nature. As the answers of the participants indicate, it was mostly the kids themselves who had the say on selecting the venue to play the game. There was only one participant who said that it was the family who had the final say. And the participants who said that the decision was taken together with the family stated that it was due to the existence of some certain conditions. Considering the venue, form and content of the games played by the participants during their childhood, it is obvious that the families did not prevent their children from going out to play. Based on this finding, it is thought that the families were supportive for their children to play outdoors, and the mutual interaction between nature and child was not disrupted by the families. The expressions of the participants are as follows: H1: In fact, there was no existing decision-making mechanism. When I look back to the past, my mom was a housewife. After school we had a certain amount of free time. School did not go on all-day in those times. We have a certain amount of free time. In those times, when we came home from school we used to have a quick bite to eat and then go outside to play till it was dark. Parents were used to it. My family never intervened. H2: Ourselves. We were the ones deciding it. H3: We took the decision together with our friends on the day. We were getting on well, and the neighbourhood had many girls. H4: We and our families were deciding it. H5: Our house had a garden. There was this garden and a street in front of the house, and not many cars were passing by. So, it was all for ourselves. Than the neighbourhood was a true one, all people knew each other. I am not even aware of such a decision-making mechanism at all. H6: Us, the kids mostly. But these venues were certain venues anyway. None of us ever proposed any place that our parents would not approve. The place we were going to play was known. It was either our garden or the garden of our neighbours. Those were the common points where all of us would meet. H7: Us. I mean the street was ours anyway. Therefore, we did not have something like you can play there… H8: Our families were deciding. H9: As it was our natural environment, us, we were deciding inside the garden.

Factors Influencing the Selection of Venues to Play Games
The selection of the venue to play games during participants' childhood was not something much intervened by their families, thus it is clear that the factors influencing the decision would be the factors that were deemed to be important by the participants themselves. In this sense, the participants have mentioned going places that looked nice, staying in places where they families could keep an eye on them, and playing within their own yards as the factors deemed to be important by them and said that these factors were influential in making the decision about the venue to play games. The expressions of the participants are as follows: H2: We were going to places that seemed nice; however, it was not a big problem as we had a secure environment. We were not allowed to go too far, obviously. We were not going to another house or another direction. We kept around our own houses but we had plenty of room so it was sufficient for us. And we did not have any problems as we always asked for permission from our families before going out. Once outside, we were the deciding party. There were certain limits and we were keeping and playing within those limits. We were not going into a neighbour's land or area to play. We were playing in our own area but we were freely playing within our own area. H4: My mom and dad did not intervene. Dad

Families' Attitudes towards the Request of Playing Outdoors
In this section of the interview, the participants have been asked whether they wanted to play outside during their childhood periods, and all participants gave positive answers. Afterwards, the participants have been asked about their families' attitudes against their request of playing outside. The majority of the participants declared that their families were fine with it, they did not intervene, and playing outside was the typical thing to do. Being seen as typical within the flow of daily life, some participants also said that this was bound to condition, such as doing the homework first, being under watch and so on. However, the number of these participants is less than the number of the others. Families' positive attitude towards their children who were asking to play outside can be associated with safety, environmental conditions, bigger amount of natural areas and sincere relationships among neighbours in those times. The expressions of the participants are as follows: H1: It was up to us but obviously we were not allowed to go out of the garden. If  As dad was always in the shop, we were playing there. Therefore, we never thought of anywhere else. As we were under their watch, they were saying do not go off, the area between this thrash bin and that lamppost is your playground. They used to set the limits and giving the rest to us and we took it. H9: The environment was safe, everyone knew each other well and we were also inside a garden, and the garden had a gate. Therefore, even though we were on the main street, we were never restricted due to any perceived threat. We were comfortable in going out. No parent ever came out to keep an eye on us. From time to time they were calling us from the window as "time for dinner" but other than that it was something we did all the time with friends. H10: They usually allowed us, never a problem; I don't remember having any limits.

Differences Observed in Games from Childhood to
This Day Participants have been asked to whether they have seen any changes between the games played in their childhood and the games being played today, and to outline the changes that they have observed. All of the participants agreed that the games have changed. It is thought that this was due to electronic devices keeping the kids indoors and to have fewer places to play. It is also thought that the changes in the games being played have been influenced by television programs, kids spending more times indoors and also the fact that today's kids are not aware of the games being played in the past. Hence, the statements of the families indicate that the kids find difficult to create a game. Technology, which occupies a great amount of space in homes, is keeping the kids indoors and preventing them to go out to the nature. Even the games that can be played outside are possible to be played inside through virtual games by using technological devices. Considering the limited possibility of playing outdoor games inside, it can be said that the transformation of the games is due to the fact that kids are preferring to stay inside rather than outside, in the nature. The opinions of the participants on this issue are as follows:

Findings Regarding the Games Played by Children
In this section of the study, mothers have been asked to repeat their expressions regarding the games they were playing when a child, but this time, the answers would be about their children. At this point, the mothers have been asked to provide their opinions based on their observations about their children. This section of the study is addressing the games played by the mothers and their children, preferences of game venue, descriptions of the games played, person or persons selecting the venue, factors influencing the selection of venue and the attitude of families towards the desire to play outdoors. The first question was to name the games played by the children of the participants.

Games Played by the Children
In this section, the participants have been asked to name the games played by their children, and the answers indicate that these games are mostly played indoors, and are x (adventure game), tablet, lego, doll, drawing, online computer games, play dough, robots and calculators. Even though some participants stated that their children are playing hide and seek, dodgeball and football outside, when compared to their own childhoods, the ratio of preferring such games is lower. One of the participants was playing shopkeeper in nature with natural materials, while the child of another participant is playing the same game at home, with actual toys. This indicates that children are nowadays coming back home from the nature, and the use of creative sides is declining and getting more difficult. The statements of the participants are as follows:

Selection of Playgrounds
Venues to play the game are as important for the children as the games to be played. So much so that when the same game is played out in the nature it is much more enjoyable but playing it inside does not produce the same level of joy for the children. It is also true that sometimes you can play a game at home but it is not possible to play the same outdoors. For this reason, it has been tried in this section to learn the playground preferences of the children of the participants. The statements of the participants indicate that their children mostly prefer to play in their house, their room, their siblings' room, living room and the garden as there is limited chance to play out in the street. It became clear that some kids prefer to stay inside even in summer months, and some kids still preferred to stay inside despite their mothers trying to encourage them to go outside to play with their friends. Even though it has been observed that there are some children who prefer to play outside, their number is lower in general. It is thought that this could be associated safety, streets having too much vehicle traffic, families trying to be in control of the situation, children becoming too interested in media and technology and other similar factors. The expressions of the participants are as follows:

Description of One of the Games Played
In this section of the study, the participants have been asked to describe one of the games they children are playing, based on their observations. It became evident that the games being played were mostly indoors, such as car race, board games, games imitating song contests, lego games, online games as well as games played with the materials found in home, such as playing shopkeeper. Even though there were some outdoor games being played, the number of these games is too few to mention. The number of games including the nature, played with materials found in nature is not that much. When the games played by the participants during their childhood are compared to those being played by their children nowadays, it becomes evident that there is an inclination to move indoors from the outdoors. The explanations with regards to the contents of the games are as follows: H7: And they play a lot of hide and seek with their friends, when I watch them from the balcony, however they adapt the rules to their likings... In one game they have this rule, no entering into the buildings, that's the rule they say but when each one of them comes out of the building they object, saying no we didn't have such a rule they say. When at home, they generally prefer Lego or hide and seek. The rules are changed depending on whether they are inside or outside. At home they count up to twenty but outside they count up to fifty. Because the area is bigger so it is more difficult for them to hide. They change the rules accordingly. They add different things. But mostly hide and seek outside… I mean they increase the count. And they define a certain area to hide, otherwise too difficult to find. And based on the group that is playing, rules are changed again. Therefore I cannot clearly talk about certain rules but in general they play things like hide and seek. H8

Person or Persons Influencing the Selection Play Venue
In this section of the study, the participants have been asked about who decides on the venue for the children to play their games. Most of the participants have stated that they are the decisive party due to many reasons. Even though the opinions on these reasons are clearly expressed in the next stage, there are many different factors making the families to decide on the venue for the games to be played. Some families considered the wish of their children and let them play outside, while some others allowed only on condition that they kept a close watch. There are also some children who have no interest and resist going out, despite all the persistent pushes by their moms. During their childhoods, the parents of today were deciding themselves on where to play their games but nowadays they interfere in the decisions of their children. It is thought that most of the parents do not allow their children to play outside due to certain worries, thus they are influential on the selection of paly venue for their children. The opinions of the participants on this issue are as follows: H1: In fact, we obviously consider his wish. But talking about the winter period, school is full-day. He comes home in the evening. Grabs a bite, does homework for a while and then indoor games… He may play in his room. It is limited during the week, and because the school has just opened, he continues to play with the tablet but after a while no more of the tablet. So he will be playing with his toys at home… But once the days become longer, he likes to play outside until dinner, after coming home from school. Then he is allowed to play in the garden or the park. It depends on what he wants. But if the weather and conditions do not allow, then at home obviously. We do not limit him much at the weekends. We try to make him spend some time outside as long as the weather permits.
H2: Thinking about it, we have no such limitations. She has her room. When she wants to play in her room she goes there herself. She says "I will be playing in my room, or I will do something in my room". She plays there but when she wants to come to the living room and play with her sister or with us, she can do so. It is generally her decision but sometimes we also influence, for instance when we watch the news my husband does not want them to make noise so tells them to leave the living room and go to their room. Other than that, she takes the decision. H3

Factors Influencing the Selection of the Play Venue
Some participants have stated that they are influential on the selection of the venue where their children are going to play. An effort has been made to find out whether such interferences were based on any reason. In this sense, the participants have revealed that they have certain reasons to have an intervening attitude on this issue. It has been observed that the participants are mostly intervening against their children playing outside in the nature on the grounds of safety worries. Traffic, playing in an environment where they can be kept under close watch, weather conditions, trying to keep the children away from electronic games and toys are all factors that contribute to the families being so interventionist in the whole process. It is also thought that the changing conditions of the times, traffic starting to become a serious issue in the whole world, negative events covered in the media are all factors affecting the process for the families. The expressions of the participants are as follows:

The Attitudes of the Families for Their Children
Asking to Play Outside In this section, the participants have been asked if their children ever ask to play outside, and the participants with a positive answer were further asked about their attitude towards this request. It has been observed that the families allow their children to play outside, pending certain conditions; they stay with their children until the game is over and also that they actually try to encourage their children to play outside. It has also been observed that none of the families had a negative attitude towards this request. It is evident that the participants are bothered by their children's unwillingness to play outside. Therefore it is probable that they are mostly trying to direct them to play outside. The expressions of the participants are as follows: The participants who have stated that their children have no interest in playing outside have been asked about the possible reasons for this unwillingness. It has been observed that the families are not really pleased with this at all. Some participants have stated that the location of the house was effective on this, while in some other cases the negative intervention by the mother at the beginning led to the child losing his interest in playing outside, despite the mother trying to encourage him or her to go outside afterwards. The expressions of the participants are as follows:

Discussion
The effect of games is undebatable for children to have fun, learn, socialize, and get to know the world and their immediate environment. While spending some quality time when playing games, a child is also using his creativity at the same time and acquiring skills that would benefit him. It is highly important to give the child the value he deserves on every occasion to ensure his/her development is supported naturally. Looking at the definitions of the individuals of a society towards games; and the type of the games they are playing, it is possible to see whether a game is maintaining it's value or not [24]. In every part, era and culture of the world, the generation-to-generation transmission of the games played by children is sometimes successful with full transmission, while some are being kept played with some changes but some others have been completely forgotten [25]. There are many factors affecting this. The advancing of technology, changes in the value attached to game, environmental and family factors are just some of those. The purpose of this study is to reveal the types of changes that occurred during the process of conveying games from Generation X to Generation Z, in other words from mothers to their children. With this in mind, mothers have been interviewed and asked to describe the names, content, venues of the games they used to play during their childhood, as well as the factors effecting the selection of venue. They have also been asked to make the same assessment for the games their children are playing and then the statements regarding the games played by the mothers and their children have been subjected to a comparison. In this comparison, games have been subjected to assessment to see whether they are played out in nature, materials related to nature being included in these games, the change that occurred over time in terms of spending time in nature and the attitudes of families towards their children spending time in nature. It has been observed that during their childhoods, mothers used to play skip rope, dodge ball, hide and seek, stop-ball, dodgeball, house, skipping rope, line, playing tag, godelek, tag, higher-than-ground, dodgeball, singing on stage, teacher-student, crossword, silent-movie, football while their children are mostly playing with things like playstation, tablet, Lego, dolls, robot and calculator, and then they are drawing, playing online computer games, play dough. Assessing these games on their playability in nature, it is evident that the games played by the mothers are more suitable to play out in nature. In their study, Tuğrul et al. [24] reviewed the relation between the game preferences of three generations and reported a change between the past two generations and the current generation, in terms of their games, game pals and the materials they play with. The findings of this study are similar in this sense to those findings. In a study by Çukur [26], it has been reported that the social circles of children are being determined by the electronic world, and this leads to a change on the game culture; and the child with an artificialness and limitation in his physical environment leads a life that is disconnected from the nature, passive and immobile. These data are supportive of our findings.
After asking the mothers what games they were playing, they were also asked about the venues they were mostly playing their games. The children of both generations seem to be playing gems both indoors and outside, however it has also been determined that Generation X was playing mostly outside while Generation Z is mostly playing inside. Mothers stated that during their childhood they mostly played outside, meaning the front side of their house, than the neighbourhood, side street, in front of the apartment, sides of the house and garden, adding that their children are playing mostly indoors, inside the house, in their rooms, in living room and so on. Erbay and Durmuşoğlu Saltalı [15] came to the conclusion in their study that when inside, children are playing in their own rooms, in the hall and in living rooms, and when outside, they prefer to be playing in gardens and parks, hence supporting our related finding. Considering the question whether the venues they are playing games are in the nature or not, it is evident that there is an inclination moving from outdoors into indoors to play games. In a study conducted by Clements [27], the playing experiences of mothers have been compared to those of their children's, and it has been revealed that the times spent by the children playing outdoors is much less than the time spent by their mothers playing outside. This date in question has similarities with the outcomes of this study. Tuğrul et al. [24] reported that there is reduction in the number of children preferring outdoor games and most of the time children prefer the games played indoors (computer games etc.). Again, these findings have similarities with the relevant conclusion of this study.
The participants have been asked to describe one of the games they used to play when they were a child themselves, as well as one of the games being played by their children. The purpose of this question was to reveal whether the games played were making use of the nature and natural materials. It is a known fact that the mothers used to play most of their games out in the nature. In this sense, it is also not too difficult to anticipate that they were using natural materials when playing games. Mothers have stated that during their childhood the games they played were played by using things that were easily available in nature, such as tree shells, stones, broken pieces of marble, bricks, roof tiles, electricity hose, cement and plants and that they were making toys out of these materials. They added that their children are playing with things that are not natural but rather more industrial, such as cars, papers, Lego, computers and keyboards and other similar things. It is evident that during the process from the mothers to their children, toys have become more artificial, industrial and personal. Sormaz and Yüksel [28] emphasized that games and toys turned into a more institutional, commercial, industrial and virtual dimension; games and toys became more personal and they are no more unique to a child. The findings of our study have similarities with the points emphasized in their study.
The participants have been asked to name the persons deciding the venues to play games both during their own childhood and their children. It has been observed that all the participants stated they were the ones to decide on the area where they were going to play. Some of the participants stated that have a say on the game venue preferences of their children, but it has been determined that the families are the single decisive party on most occasions. Some families allow their children if they want to go out to play, but there are also many families who are more cautious about letting their children play outside. The participants stated that the reasons for such caution are the serious problems experienced that were not existent during their childhood, such as the reliability of the environment, traffic issue, families being tolerant in the past. According to them, the normal thing to do was to play outside in the past but this is not the case anymore. Hence, the participants have stated that during their childhood their requests to play outside were taken naturally, but nowadays they can only give conditional permission to their children's requests to play outside, they want their children to play under their watch and they do not trust the people outside. It is though that the changing conditions of the time, news presented in the printed and visual media, and the waning neighbourhood relations between families could all be contributing factors for families growing a fear for safety. In this sense, a study conducted by Başal [29] is supportive of our findings, as it concluded that the reasons for families limiting their children's play-time outdoors is due to the facts that traffic has taken its place in the society as a major issue, the number of playgrounds has been reduced, and that sincere neighbourhood relations and trust towards others are no longer existent. Şişman and Özyavuz [30] conducted a survey and revealed that the majority of people think that the number, design and play elements of children's play grounds are insufficient and they also stated that they do not have much trust in them. It has become evident that the main reason for families being unable to direct their children to play outside or having difficulties in allowing them to play outside when the children want to is the lack of a safe environment. Supportive of our related findings, Başaran Uysal [31] has emphasized that even though the importance of games are known in a child's development and despite the growing need of creating playgrounds, the areas that are regularly ignored in towns are playgrounds and the number of safe playgrounds to play have been reduced during the urbanization process. In this sense, these findings are supporting our related conclusion.
Participants have stated that they are observing great differences between the games of the past and the modern games. They have added that the reasons behind these differences are technology, the lack of playgrounds, television programs, children not knowing the older games. A study by Clements [27], with similarities to this study, has concluded that the biggest obstacle preventing children from spending time and playing in the nature or outdoors is addiction to television and computer games. In a study by Tuğrul et al. [24], again supporting the findings of this study, the participants have stated that technologic advancements such as computer and television have impacted the playing culture of children. Başal [29] and Kabapınar and İncegül [32] have conducted a study reviewing the progress of games throughout the process and concluded that a change and transformation did occur. Kabapınar and İncegül [32] indicated that children do not know games such as tipcat, jacks, nine-stone, Beyblade and tombik, but despite this, children have an interest in these games, describing them as "nice". In this sense, data from their study have similarities with the findings of our study.
Assessing all the findings from this study leads us to this conclusion: There are obvious differences between the games being played from Generation X to Generation Z, and these differences are caused by media, technology, diminishing sincere relations between neighbours, having less amount of playgrounds, emerging issues such as safety and traffic. Therefore, the concepts of game and toy have changed and this made it inevitable for children to move indoors. As a consequence of all these, the families cannot send their children out into the nature to play with peace of mind, and the children do not make such a request from their families. As a result of indoors pulling children towards itself and outdoors pushing children from itself, a stereotype child has emerged, who is disconnected from the nature, is too personal, does not have any reason to make an effort to socialize, preferring to play on his own at home, in his room, hence, is distant from the curative power of the nature. Considering the positive effects of nature on children, and the characteristics of former games that allowed spending more time in the nature, it would be beneficial to take a stride towards encouraging children to spend more time in nature. In this sense, drama lecturers could be appointed in schools, to teach the forgotten games to modern children. By establishing safe playgrounds, the attitudes of families and children towards paling outdoors can be made positive. Teachers and members of other professions who spend intimate times with children may be trained on performing activities that would help to spend more quality times in nature. Increasing the number of nature education projects and ensuring that students from all schools nationwide take part in these projects can help children to become aware of the curative power of nature. Increasing the awareness of families in terms of games and toys will help them to take measures to direct their children to play outdoors. A handbook, containing information on games that can be played in nature and details about how to make the best use of nature when playing, can be distributed to all primary and secondary schools throughout Turkey to increase the awareness of children.
As well as developing new toys, many countries are also taking older games and toys under protection and convey them to future generations [29]. To be able to take such measures in Turkey, the number of toy museums need to be increased and older games have to be conveyed to future generations. School yards can be turned into safe areas that are suitable for outdoor teaching and open to children's use, particularly during the weekends and a professional team can be assigned to hold outdoor education activities.