Childhood+Games+and+Toys

Ancient Roman Childhood Games and Toys By Eric H.       The children of Ancient Rome played with many games we play with today. Just like today, children of Ancient Rome loved to copy their parents in the way they played. For example, children played with model chariots the way children today play with race cars. After school, which was only for wealthy children, they enjoyed playing with the following toys: rattles, scooters, jump ropes, yo-yos, seesaws, swings, kites, balls, board games, hobbyhorses, carts, stilts, and models of animals and people. Children of poorer families stayed home where they worked and were taught how to work around the house by their parents. Roman children loved to play all sorts of games. Many of the children’s toys were made by their parents. A very popular toy was a rag doll, which was made with rags, towels, and hair. Other dolls were made out of cloth or wax. Some dolls even had jointed legs and arms attached with pins so they could move. Female dolls may have had sets of clothing. Another toy was a ball. Children liked to played games similar to soccer with a ball. They could make a bouncy ball by blowing up pig fat and stuffing it into animal skin. Children often played ball in the street. Other toys made by their parents were metal hoops and wooden wheels, which the children used for rolling along. The roll alongs also had bells so that their parents would know when their child was coming. The younger children needed more physical activity such as throwing balls, jumping through hoops, and running to build muscle. Toys didn’t only serve as entertainment, it helped them grow and learn. Children of all ages played games. One particular game played was marbles. Marbles were made from glass and pottery such as terracotta. When a large pot was made left over terracotta was used for marbles. Another common game among boys was dice games. They also played knuckle bones which is very similar to jacks today. You throw up one of the knuckle bones and try to scoop up one of the other knuckle bones and then catch the first one before it hits the ground. This game can be played with any small stones. Boys played very advanced games similar to dominoes. Girls and boys didn’t only have different jobs, they also had different toys. Boys played with lead soldiers and marbles, while girls played with rag dolls. Tic-tac-toe and leapfrog were popular games at the time. Odd and even was a game where one child held stones in a closed hand. The other guessed if the objects were an odd number or an even number. Romans of all ages played checkers. They would scratch grids into floor stones, floor tiles, houses, guard houses, amphitheatres, and other places like that. Then, they would move the pebbles from one square to another, just like today. The Romans would play this game during their free time. This shows that not only children play games.

Romans not only worked hard, they also loved to play. People of all ages played with games and toys. Mainly the children played with toys, and the adults played games. Toys and games were also important in a child’s growth just like children growing up today. Works Cited “Toys and Games.” //Factual Information of Ancient Rome.// 19 Dec. 2008  Crisp, Peter. //Ancient Rome. //New York: DK, 2003. Guy, John. //Rome// //Life.// New York: Ticktock, 1998. James, Simon. //Ancient Rome.// N.Y.: Eyewitness. 2008 James. John. //How We Know about The Romans.// New York: Peter Bedrick, 1997. Nardo, Don. //Games of Ancient Rome//. San Diego: Lucent, 2000//.// Tames, Richard. //Ancient Roman Children.// Chicago: DK, 2004.