At eight years old, I stood at the front door and watched as my father opened the trunk of his car to take out a Nintendo game system. At that moment, I had no idea how many hours of game time I’d put into the system, but I was excited nonetheless. I watched my father hook up the game system to the television and with one button, the stages of my life were set.

My childhood was sprinkled with hours of game play in front of the television, continued through my adolescent years and is still a part of my life today. Studies have shown the benefits of gaming while critics of gaming have made an equally valid position on the negative effects gaming has on young gamers.

Video game consoles have advanced dramatically since its original inception. Sitting down and playing a game of Super Mario Bros. brings back many happy memories of my childhood, and seeing the ability game consoles have to get people off their feet to play games, brings a whole new meaning to gaming and another reason to keep playing.

Child’s Play Charity takes what I experienced as a child and gives it to sick children in hospitals. Making a donation to the charity means giving children a chance to be children. Donations can be made several ways but I love that you can buy a toy or game from a wish list set up on Amazon.ca and it gets shipped directly to the hospital that you choose in your area.