Time Out for Recess: A Child’s Right to Play

By Deborah Lambeth

Ask any elementary school-aged child what their favorite thing about school is, and 9 times out of 10 they will either say lunch or recess. Well, lunch will always be a favorite element to a school day. However, a brief period of recess is an endangered species. Recess is either becoming a thing of the past in some schools, or becoming more important as other schools are touting the benefits of play for children.

When babies learn, they learn through play. Playing is their "work." They learn the differences in shapes, sizes, and colors. Playing helps a child to develop visual stimulation, motor skills, balance, etc. Lots of things that will benefit a child later in life are learned from playing. Who would have ever thought there would need to be an organization called the American Association for the Child’s Right to Play? Well, there is, and as a matter of fact, the association recently helped promote the first ever National Recess Week.

The blanket organization promoting National Recess Week is IPA/USA, the national affiliate of The International Play Association (IPA). IPA is an international non-governmental organization, founded in Denmark in 1961. Membership is open to any individual, group, or organization that endorses the United Nations' Declaration of the Rights of the Child (1959), especially Article 7, paragraph 3, which states: "The child shall have full opportunity for play and recreation which should be directed to the same purposes as education; society and the public authorities shall endeavor to promote the enjoyment of this right."

Why is school recess in danger of ending? The push to have academic excellence could be a reason. Some school systems believe that physical education and recess, exploring the arts, or being in the band or the choir prohibits a child from learning the basics. However, there are components to everything a child does that helps a child learn; it is not solely out of a book.

Recess gives children the opportunity to have their own "time out." Just getting out of the classroom and having a change of scenery helps clear the mind. Breathing in fresh air, running, learning team skills, and having the opportunity to have conversations with other children are all benefits of recess. With the recent plethora of studies about increasing numbers of overweight children, recess really needs to be continued and structured play needs to be part of that at least once a week.

I can recall in elementary school having physical fitness tests. I hated those days! I can remember doing squat thrusts (yes, a distant, painful memory), sit-ups, jumping jacks, standing broad jumps (three tries for the longest length), pull-ups, chin-ups, etc. Even though we had daily recess, we all looked forward to the primary PE day, or end-of-the year Play Day we had. We learned new things, stretched our athletic potential, and just had fun laughing and giggling at what we could or couldn’t do.

I look back on those days and see how a daily recess period segued into enjoying riding my bike, playing tennis, playing softball, walking to school carrying books (the equivalent of weights), and other physical activities I loved. As a young adult, I was active—walking, swimming, exercising, riding bikes, developing my backhand and laughing at the attempts! And as I have gotten older, even though my capabilities have lessened, my desire to exercise and play is still there. I know that has to come from having recess "roots."

I believe the benefits of allowing children to have recess far outweigh the reasons not to have this time. Recess doesn’t need to end. Actually, it’s necessary to set aside time to let children play—young and old alike.