The Importance of Play: A Case for Daily Recess in Schools

Published: March 30, 2023

Recent studies have shown that children and teenagers in the United States are now officially the most stressed, depressed and anxious generation ever. There are some obvious causes of this mental distress among our youth, but one evidence-based and relatively easy strategy to implement is increasing children’s unstructured playtime and exposure to the outdoors. Some schools with lagging test scores have opted to replace children’s well-established need for breaks and playtime through recess, with more structured indoor classroom activities. There are even some schools in our area that have entirely done away with daily recess, even for very young children. This removal of free play time is counter-intuitive to healthy child development and has and will have detrimental effects on children’s cognitive, social, emotional, physical and mental health, ultimately impacting their academic progress. With kids in school longer days, with more homework, and often highly competitive, highly structured afterschool activities, they are literally being deprived of crucial exposure to the outdoors, and opportunity to engage the childhood right to play. In fact, the American Academy of Pediatrics feels so strongly about the importance of recess, they have published their recommendation for schools to implement daily recess policies. Children who have daily recess build their fine and gross motor skills, reduce stress with increased exposure to nature, learn crucial socialization skills and engage in more moderate to vigorous physical activity than those who do not.

When I reflect on my own childhood elementary school years, what stands out in my memories are the experiences I had on the playground during recess time. My memories of the classroom setting are vague and foggy at best, and while I might remember a special teacher or two, what comes into clearer focus are the games, conversations, adventures, imaginary play, and even drama that took place during our twice daily recess breaks. Supervised, but not structured, we were let lose to run off pent up steam, play, swing, slide, climb, laugh, tumble, build, dig, explore and figure out how to socialize without the teacher guiding every interaction. Were there occasional scraped knees and hurt feelings? Absolutely. This is how children safely learn to deal with the realities of being a human who interacts with the physical world and with other humans, in the safe parameters of adult supervision. Whether 4-year-olds or 10-year-olds, I would argue these lessons are more profound and determine future success than many classroom lessons. Concerns about bullying or accidents can be managed with clear guidelines and playground supervision, as they are in the majority of schools in the US and around the world where recess continues to be a necessary given.

What is important about having a district-wide recess policy that ensures daily recess for every elementary-aged student, is that recess won’t be relegated to an “extra” less important elective activity, easily removed when there is a need for more testing preparation or when a child is being punished. Some would argue that Physical Education (PE) class is enough activity for kids. But PE is highly structured and doesn’t usually allow for imaginary play or socialization, and often happens inside a gym and not outside where children need to spend time every day.

Perhaps a larger concern is that there is racial, economic and ethnic disparity when it comes to children being allowed daily recess. In fact, the children who are least likely to get daily recess include those who live below the poverty line, children who are struggling academically and children who attend predominantly Hispanic and African American schools. In Texas, only 20-40% of 2nd and 4th graders currently meet the recommendation for daily recess, less so in the Rio Grande Valley. That also aligns with lower academic outcomes for those at-risk groups.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines recess as “regularly scheduled periods within the elementary school day for unstructured physical activity and play,” and there are numerous studies and publications documenting the health and academic benefits of this daily recess. Even the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child states, “Parties recognize the right of the child to rest and leisure, to engage in play and recreational activities appropriate to the age of the child…” Surely giving children a short break to play outside during a long school day will benefit everyone. While some principals and teachers who understand the benefits of recess, do implement it in their schools, there are many schools that do not. Encouraging your school district and leadership to implement a daily recess policy for all elementary schools will insure equity across schools and provide all children the right to healthy rest and play! Tu Salud, ¡Si Cuenta! Your Health Matters!