Playing Cards is hand therapy and more

Playing cards is more than child play. Rediscover alertness, social interaction, hand therapy wrist and arm movement with the 20th Century technology of Playing Cards. Way back in the 20th Century playing Card Games was a regular pursuit for children and adults of all ages. Perhaps you were one of them. Did you notice how it kept you alert, and gave you something to do with your hands while you chatted. Maybe this is something new to you and you doubt it is true. Allow me a few minutes to show you how active minds and active hands improve the quality of daily living for adults. Moreover, playing cards helps adults maintain their dignity as they grow older, when life may otherwise lose its purpose.

Play cards to activate hands and mind

Do you see an elderly person in your imagination, sitting in the corner with their hands folded, dreaming. They are drifting away into secret corners of their mind, because they no longer interact with other people, except for the bare necessities of living. We must find ways to prevent this. Playing cards helps adults re-engage with their peers in situations like that. So you see, this age-old hobby promotes active minds (and active hands) in addition to being fun.

Playing Cards Helps Adults Replace Lost Tasks

My grandmother was still alive and lived with us when I was a teen. She helped with household chores like shelling peas, peeling potatoes, and darning socks. Those activities kept her fingers nimble and her hands soft. When she did cryptic crosswords and jigsaw puzzles, her hands seemed to fly through the air she was so quick.

That is all gone now, thanks or no thanks to modern convenience. We purchase prepared vegetables ready for the pot. We throw away old socks because China makes such cheap replacements. Today’s grannies while away time watching television, or staring into space when alone. If we give them a computer, their only hand movements involve the mouse or mouse pad.

Are you glimpsing the extent to which playing cards helps adults retain physical and mental dexterity, as they age. The same could happen to us when the fourth industrial revolution is complete. And robots do the heavy lifting while we spend hours on computers following intellectual pursuits. This is not idle chatter. There is talk in Europe of governments paying citizen salaries, when they no longer have to work because machines do it for them.

Play cards to reduce isolation

We have active minds thanks to jobs we enjoy because we add value. We have active hands too, thanks to not having self-driving cars just yet, or robots to do the washing up. However, our social circle is shrinking, because we spend more and more time on mobile devices. And when we get home in the evening, we watch television or catch up on social media.

Playing cards helps adults avoid the tender trap of fiddling with smartphones while half-heartedly socializing. A competitive card game brings us out of our shells, as we actively engage in present moments of fun and laughter. Try it sometime and you may be surprised how old friendships bloom again, because there is something to do together while having fun.

How to rediscover playing cards

If you played cards as a child, restarting is easier than you think. A good place to start is the toy box or toy cupboard – there is probably a deck of cards in there somewhere. Find a comfortable chair at a table  and start with a shuffle of the deck. Expect to be rusty! Count out 7 cards – come on – you remember – face down. Then pick them up and fan them in your hand. Arrange the cards in number order. Put the cards back in the deck and start again….your hand therapy has begun… What to do if you can’t find the cards , can’t read the cards,  can’t hold the cards…