Why are fun and games considered childish?

Have you ever heard the expression "They're having a second childhood" used to describe someone and their behaviour?  If you have then it will most likely have been used in the context where the subject is doing something that is typical of childhood.  This raises a question though as to what exactly constitutes being childish.

When I was a kid for example, games consoles were something that were reserved for the younger generation.  Older people didn't play with them, partly I guess due to the fact that consoles had not been around that long but also due to a lack of interest from older people.  As I have grown though the expectation that we will out grow these things has not materialised.  Games consoles are as popular with the older generations as they are with younger gamers.  However something strange has happened in terms of the games and their intended audiences.  Many older gamers prefer older games, the games they played when they were younger, and new games that are intended for a younger audience - like Pokémon for example.  Vice versa, the games that are intended for older gamers appeal more to younger gamers, like Grand Theft Auto.  Now there are exceptions and this is by no means a certainty, it's just an observation that many people have made.

Going beyond games however there are many things that as we get older we look back on and want to do again.  Things which people label as childish, interests in board games etc.  While adult experiences like alcohol and sex often get combined with those games to become drinking games like Scrabble Shots and Drunk Chess etc this doesn't change the fact that at the core you're trying to recapture the feelings of your youth - most notably the fun of it.  Yet there still exists this impression that doing so is seen as childish, escapism, and juvenile.  Since when did we decide that being grown up meant that life wouldn't be fun anymore?  The more you take the joy out of life and breed boredom and dissatisfaction the more resentful and ultimately depressing life becomes.  You can work and play, there is a place for both in life.

We have more concerns as we grow older than we did when we were kids, there are many things we now have to think about that kids never have to; but that shouldn't mean that you need to abandon the way you looked at the world when you were younger.  Growing old is not a choice, but acting old is.  When you tire of life, life becomes tiring.  When you are excited by life, life becomes exciting.