Games Counselors Play

With so much school time given over to counseling rather than education, we thought that we would take a look at one of the games that counselors play, literally.

In this day and age, it is not unusual to find kindergartens with at least two full-time counselors on staff. The “Talking, Feeling and Doing Game” has been a perennial favorite of school counselors for decades. It features flash cards with questions such as, “How does it feel when your Mom or Dad scolds you for bad behavior?”

While most parents, not to mention children, don’t have a problem thinking up the answer to this one, it apparently stumps many in the mental health profession. By the way, the catalogue of the game’s manufacturer offers this warning on the game, “Restricted Item; must have at least a Master’s Degree on file to purchase.” The game is designed for children from four to 15 years of age.

The “Talking, Feeling and Doing Game” has been on sale for 30 years, which tracks nicely with the decline in scores in just about every standardized test given in America.