First it was dodgeball, and now tag, flag football and other "chase" games are off the list of approved schoolyard games for some school districts. In spite of the number of obese kids lumbering around the school at recess, a school district in Massachusetts reportedly has banned the games during unsupervised times.
According to principal Gaylene Heppe, recess is "a time when accidents can happen." That may be true, but restraining kids from releasing some pent-up energy with a good, spirited game of tag could cause more behavior problems in the classroom.
Posted by Angie Holladay
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35 Comments
Why should there be ANY time when the kids are unsupervised?
The teachers and administration have become complacent with total classroom education.
I can remember when I was in school in the 80’s and early 90’s that I never was shut up or denied recess except in inclement weather.
And when we had recess we were allowed to play games so long as no one was getting hurt.
I’m sorry, but Tag, Foursquare (this was banned somewhere, but I forget now) all those games are energetic and kids run. Sure kids could fall and scrape up, thats what happens to kids. If they are so worried about that, why don’t they get that Goodyear recycled tires flooring instead of using tarmac. Like what is out at Exploration Place.
Hmm and un-supervised.. When I was in school every grade level teacher for the grade levels that were at recess, were outside and walking around. Come on this was only 20-25 years ago people!
Had to P.S> Here :
Since the school administration sees fit to not let your children exercise, whether it be recess or PE. How about an after school Latchkey program, or maybe even Boys and Girls club? Or even perhaps taking them to the Y and letting them have a swim, run around on the tracks.. BE Children
Parents shouldn’t have to pay for what they should be able to do at school, but I think we are stuck with it for the time being.
:(
SHEESH!!!! So my grandkids ‘fall down go boom’! They even get boo-boos! That is part of their job description; it is all part of growing up.
Yes, we should make playgrounds safe in that there should nt be hard surfaces under jungle gyms etc. Heights should be limited to prevent ‘boo-boos’ from being ‘injuries’. But to pretend they will never get hurt? Not likely!
I’d rather take the chance of an injury than type 2 diabetes.
RECESS
“Ok kids, line up quietly along the outer wall…Now breath deeply, but not too deeply as it could bring pollutants into your little lungs! Now use your mental energies to think about a slimmer body! Johnny take two steps back as the sun is hitting your face and we can not have that!.
Now class spend some time thinking of what you wish to be in life.. A purchaser of Rollox windows, Sears siding, long distance services, cable TV. or Satellite TV?
What’s that Johnny? You want to be a Doctor? I am sorry but you are not Indian. Oh no you can not be a engineer, you are not Asian! You are an American! You are a consumer, you actually can not do anything.Oh I guess you could be a Lawyer, so far we have not outsourced that. But other then to buy something there are no other careers or occupations left to Americans. Johnny you say you want to make something? As an American you can only make money, we leave it up to the world to make everything for us. What how do you make money and not do anything that you can sale? Well we can always use someone to sell Rollox windows or Sears siding! Oh wait a minute, sorry those careers have been outsourced to phone banks in North Korea.
Here Johnny have another Twinkie and rethink what you want to be in life!”
IIRC, the decision of the Massachusetts board of education was based, in part, on the concern it could become a party to litigation arising from injuries incurred by children engaging in the unsupervised activities.
Ben’s suggestion is spot on, IMHO; that, and having teachers keep an eye on the students during recess would go a long way to quelling these fears. As Ben also says, boo-boos are part of the job description.
being only 10 years removed from high school, i remember some of these arguments.
I remember when dodgeball was banned from gym because one spoiled brat kid threw a fit because he got hit because he CHOOSE to enter the game. He went and cried to his daddy who threatened to sue the school unless they banned dodgeball.
That is ridiculous, same thing goes here. My kids run, jump and climb to the top of the playgrounds with no issues. Playgrounds are 10 times safer than when i was in school and probably 100 times safer than when most of u were there, and we all survived without any major mishaps.
Let kids be kids! Let them play!
(FYI, that kid who complained in high school, got his ass beat…)
Oh, and when i show up at daycare or school to pick up the kids and see a new cut or bruise, i laugh and ask the kids what stupid thing they did this time… I don’t get upset at the school or daycare like some do…
No offence but some parents need to get a life and stop being so dam over protective!
Tony – any luch getting that antiseptic glue stuff in gallon cans yet?
No, but thoes little ones do last about a month….
I suppose that snowball fights would be out of the question in todays schools.
hell, going outside if its under 50 is probally out of the question…
I went to 1st grade at our tiny Catholic school. My class of 4 was the last, it closed down that year. The nuns would let us go out in the pouring rain or even blizzard conditions as long as we had adequate clothing.
We still had hard wooden seats on the swing sets. We’d have contests to see who could swing the highest and jump the farthest out of the swings.
What a blast we had.
Agreed heckler. They love to play outside in the wet/cold and then come in to hot chocolate by the fire.
Way back when my kid was little I got a call from a neighbor because he had laid down on my front porch – it was about 40 degrees or so. Threatened to call Child welfare – I told her to have fun. I also kept my house “too cold” according to some. Thing is, when the neighbors’ kids were sick all winter mine was still terrorizing the neighborhood! (Now he is terrorizing his own neighborhood!)
himy d.d. is 8 and goes to school here and they banned tag.They still play soccer and run around though.I ask her a lot about this stuffand she says not to many kids get hurt.I think the whole subject is a bit much ,based on the fact that it is not really the best interest of the child here ,but the best interest of the school.I will say that I just love a lot of the new playground equipment and underlayment WOW .I grew up in the mts. snowball fights were a way of life.But I would rather have the restrictions than a free for all.Rick
Erik,
Just out of curiousity–I’ve never been to Exploration Place–are those old tires shredded?
The first time I saw the use of shredded tires in playground areas was in Savannah, GA in the late 80’s. My kids thought they were great! I did, too, and was glad to see recycling put to another good use.
At the corner of Bitting & 13th, next to the neighborhood pool…just west of North High School is a kids jungle gym. It is modern. The most appealing and safe feature is the synthetic padding that makes up the floor of the entire area. It is ready to absorb elbows, knees, foreheads, etc.I used to take my daughter to Riverside park but now prefer this new spot. We don’t have to deal with sand in our shoes, dust in our face, and she can run around and fall and get right back up and go again.It is the greatest thing since sliced bread….Back on subject – as a kid I ran into things, scraped things, tore clothes, sweat, and expended tons of energy chasing my moronic classmates playing tag, football, basketball, soccer, etc.Our schools are manned by wimps. Kids should play hard and they should be constantly supervised. I cannot imagine one reason not to have at least one adult on the playground at all times.Wimpiness is rapidly becoming the way of life for so many people.
“I crap bigger than you”Who said that?
“Wimpiness is rapidly becoming the way of life for so many people.”
Agreed…
My kids are so amusing when it comes to playing… I have received a couple of calls from school asking me how my kids can fall from the top of the jungle gym, land and get right back up and go at it again. The teacher asked if they ever cried… I of course laughed, they have just been raised to understand, you climb up there and fall, its your own dam fault and don’t expect sympathy from me…
Granted, if they are really hurt, I cuddle them, but if its not a real injury (i.e. something had better be broken or bleeding) than i don’t want to hear about it.
“I crap bigger than you”
GW Bush to N. Korea Leader Kim Jong Il?
T-man,I see it the same way. My 2yr old when playing rarely will acknowledge pain unless it really hurts…she doesn’t want to stop playing even if she gets banged up.On the other hand, when she is not playing she will occasionaly have a fake fall and will require many kisses for all her percieved ouchies.Parenting is great.
Haaaa Haaaa….good answer.
Jack Palance!!
Jim – that works both ways. When the boys saw my big scar from heart surgery they had to kiss my boo-boo and make it all better. They are definitely a lot of fun.
Ben was that heart surgery….or exploratory search for one?ha hajust kidding
;^)
Thing about it, recess is notorious for bullying, and although I do agree we’ve become much bigger wimps, we have to address what goes on during recesses too. And that could be prevented by teachers paying attention to what goes on outside during recess. When I was in school, it was the best time for kids to be nasty and mean to other kids and the teachers just stood there, even if a basketball was thrown right into your face on purpose.
Let kids be kids, but lets watch them closely. By the way, I had an argument with a lady about bruises and kids, and she said her kids never got bruised, I said she was either lying or she was seriously overprotective. Kids get hurt! They get over it!
The last thing we need to do is restrict any physical activity for kids. We have serious problems now with childhood obesity because kids are spending too much time in front of the TV and computer. The playground is where they run off pent up energy, learn how to play as a team, how to compromise, how to resolve conflict, and how to make friends. Recess is vital for a lot of reasons, it’s just as important as any activity they do. Of course it should be safe, but it needs to stay as physically active as possible for the benefit of the kids.
RD: Yeah they are shredded tires held together with some kind of non toxic epoxy.
It makes for a spongy yet firm surface, and since rubber is inherently water resistant, it doesn’t become slick.
Usually they put a substrate underneath it so that it can drain.
I agree Mary – like I said above I’ll take my chances with cuts and scrapes over Type 2 diabetes any day. Curious – what kind of nurse are you? Deal with kids a lot?
I can only laugh at how bubble wrapped kids are today. The WSU preschool uses the shredded tires and it’s amazing. Even so, accidents happen, even with 2 teachers watching 10 kids. I wish the parents were more understanding! One little girl tripped, fell down and bit her lip and her mom went nuts. Calm down lady, your 4 year old is NOT going to be scarred for life.
When I was a little girl, my dad used to let me play with slugs, dig in the mud and eat food that fell on the floor. The habit stuck. I haven’t been sick beyond a cold in more than 9 years. Coincidence? ;)
Very true Tara. Kid bit her lip – boo hoo!
CAn I ship mine out to you for a while? They liked the beach in CA; bet they would really love yours!
Tara, I’m sure you’re familiar with the hypothesis that one reason for increase in asthma, etc., is the higher degree of hygiene and cleanliness generally practiced in today’s society? IIRC, it goes something like since the “germs” are not so prevalent, kids don’t develop “immunities” to common recurring substances, like dust, thereby leading to increased incidence of asthma and other respiratory disorders.
So true, a little germ exposure is good for kids. I remember my mom would even give me a real egg to make mud pies with. We used to dare each other to eat sand (trust me,it tastes pretty icky!)Kids today are overprotected from the wrong things. They need to play in the dirt more and spend less time on the internet and watching trash TV.Ben, I was a hospital psychiatric nurse for years, I specialized in adolescent behavioral health for 7 yrs, then I worked in every aspect of behavioral health, including drug and alcohol addiction. I’ve been doing home health for the last 6 yrs, mostly working with the severe and persistant mentally ill and the physically disabled who live in the community. Home health enables them to live independantly, most of them would be in a nursing home if they didn’t recieve our services. It’s very rewarding, I get to advocate for them and I do a lot of case management. I’ve learned so much in the last 20 yrs, I wouldn’t trade my job for anything.
Yes, everyone is dead on correct. My son fell and split his chin at school and needed 4 stitches (which he pulled out himself the very next day). But I didn’t blame the school, I thanked them for their intervention after it happened. Any mom that freaks out about an accident like that needs to grow a pair and get over it. We’ve become a society where illness and accidents are just not allowed to happen without it being someone else’s fault. I’ve been saying for a long time that it’s going way too far. People do die, kids die, it’s tragic, but sometimes accidents just happen and nobody is to blame.