Gerede (Bolu) district children's games

Games are activities that help children have a good time in which they take part voluntarily. Games, which help the child to understand himself/herself and his/her environment, regulate the child's relationship with both himself/herself and the environment. By games, children learn how to express themselves, to be able to create various thoughts and the skills to be able to control the emotions that they experience. The function of the children's games is very important in child psychology. It is known that the games that the children play by using their motor skills allow them to develop physiologically as well as psychologically. The games, which allow the children to create their own selves and shape their characters and which they play psychologically and physiologically in an active manner, are of great significance. The period of childhood, which passes by playing games in front of a monitor, is perceived as a very dangerous situation for the children. By spending hours in front of the monitor without socialization, the children start missing the life skills, personal skills and friendships that they would learn from the traditional games. Gerede, a town which has always existed in the stage of history, is quite rich in terms of cultural values. It has rich folkloric assets in terms of its location, nature, cultural elements and the persons whom it has raised. In the study, the children's games are addressed in the Gerede sub province of Bolu. This study consists of four main sections. In the first section general information about Gerede is provided; in the second section the children's games are analyzed in a general framework; in the third section the children's games are narrated by the reference persons; and afterwards in the fourth section the games are analyzed in terms of the functional theory of folklore.