Article: Children today are suffering a severe deficit of play

[Wildcat]

I read an interesting article about how the lack of free play affects kids. I haven't seen it mentioned, so I thought I would share. I know nothing about the website other than it seems to be a serious site.

 

http://www.aeonmagazine.com/being-human/children-today-are-suffering-a-severe-deficit-of-play/

 

It's sort of long, but is a fast read. In the interest of full disclosure, the author does mention his book, but I still think the article has merit.

 

 

[freeindeed]

And that's why I believe in a relaxed atmosphere for my kids when they're preschoolers and kindergarteners, and even first graders. Play time is learning time.

[Χά�ων]

And that's why I believe in a relaxed atmosphere for my kids when they're preschoolers and kindergarteners, and even first graders. Play time is learning time.

:iagree:

[maize]

I'd like to read the book.

[Julie Smith]

Thanks for the nice article.

[kitten18]

Really, really interesting. Thanks for sharing.

 

You should cross post this on the Gen Ed board.

[Wildcat]

Really, really interesting. Thanks for sharing.

 

You should cross post this on the Gen Ed board.

 

I'll do that (duh on me).

 

As I was reading the article, I kept thinking that homeschooling allowed us the freedom to let the kids be 'kids'. It has been hard, as their peers in public/private schools didn't have that freedom, but my kids did. I can't tell you the last time I saw a kid playing outside. Schoolwork, sports, or other scheduled activities have caused the extinction of neighborhood pick-up games around here. It is so sad.

 

I'd like to read the book.

 

I, too, would like to read the book.

[grantmeawish]

I feel very blessed to live in a neighborhood where all the kids come out to play everyday until dark. We all have open doors for the kids and it is not unusual to have a random child walk in during dinner or after school looking for someone to play with. I have friends who's kids have no one to play with after school and are constantly trying to to d things to entertain them. I know how lucky we are to have kids all around.

[HollyDay]

I have been wondering about this ever since we moved 2 years ago.  We are now in an area where everyone is "scheduled to the max."  Between school, sports, music, and church activities, there is no free time.  We have made multiple attempts to have folks over for dinner, game night, dessert, etc. and the answer is always the same.  My dc have asked others to join in various "play" activities like games or crafts to be told no they are too busy.  I rarely see other children riding bikes or skate boards.  No one does chalk art in the drive way.  The reasons are generally "good" reasons: baseball, chorus, swim team, volleyball, ballet class/rehearsal/performance, robotics, test prep classes, etc. 

[albeto.]

Play time is learning time.

This is our unschooling philosophy. Kids don't stop learning when they play. Neither do adults. ;)

[AmandaVT]

Thanks for posting this! This is one of the reasons we're homeschooling. VT seems to be better at this than a lot of states, but all that structured time for little ones is just too much. I belong to an online parenting group - we all had our kids in the same month (give or take a few weeks) and public school K is so intense in some parts of the country. Just a few weeks into school and so many posts are about homework meltdowns, no down time, no recess (?!) and how hard the transition is. 

 

It takes us about an hour and a half total and that includes board games, piano time, a walk and cuddling up on the couch to read. The rest of the day is play, errands, outside time, cooking, etc. 

[Spy Car]

Being a little older than some of you, I grew up during the "golden age" of free play that the author looks back on longingly. Me too. We had long days where kids pretty much ran wild, with the only rule being "be back by sundown."

 

And I agree with him that there is much to be gained in this sort of freedom and active play, and much to be missed today. It is a source of much discussion in our home, and I try (as best possible in this modern age) to allow my child as much of the freedom I enjoyed as I can get away with.

 

I just think people chose the wrong sources to blame for the changes.

 

We (the author and I) went to school. We had homework. The homework I'm seeing today (with a child in pubic school) is not that different than homework then. The schools are not the source of the problem.

 

The problem is "fear." Parents are afraid. Most of this is because of a sensationalized media culture (and cable news is particularly bad on this front) that leads people to think crimes are going up, when the statistics show the opposite.

 

We, as parents, are letting largely irrational fears kill childhood freedoms. It isn't the schools; it is us. And the fear-mongers on TV who score ratings points (and political points) by making people fearful. They manipulate people for their own ends, using powerful tools.

 

The second problem (one related to the first) is too much screen-time. Children have time to play, and to learn, and to learn while playing, and playing while learning—if they are not spending all their time with the idiot box, or being on Mindcrack.

 

To make "learning" the enemy of play is choosing the wrong target.

 

Bill

[AmandaVT]

Being a little older than some of you, I grew up during the "golden age" of free play that the author looks back on longingly. Me too. We had long days where kids pretty much ran wild, with the only rule being "be back by sundown."

 

And I agre with him that there is much to be gained in this sort of freedom and active play, and much to be missed today. It is a source of much discussion in our home, and I try (as best possible in this modern age) to allow my child as much of the freedom I enjoyed as I can get away with.

 

I just think people chose the wrong sources to blame for the changes.

 

We (the author and I) went to school. We had homework. The homework I'm seeing today (with a child in pubic school) is not that different than homework then. The schools are not the source of the problem.

 

The problem is "fear." Parents are afraid. Most of this is because of a sensationalized media culture (and cable news is particularly bad on this front) that leads people to think crimes are going up, when the statistics show the opposite.

 

We, as parents, are letting largely irrational fears kill childhood freedoms. It isn't the schools, it is us. And the fear-monger on TV who score ratings points (and political points) by making people fearful. They manipulate people for their own ends, using powerful tools.

 

The second problem (one related to the first) is too much screen-time. Children have time to play, and to learn, and to learn wile playing, and playing while learning—if they are not spending all there time with the idiot box, or being on Mindcrack.

 

To make "learning" the enemy of play is choosing the wrong target.

 

Bill

 

I agree with you on the fear thing - the media sensationalizes the "dangers" of the world so much that you'd think we were living in a much dangerous world than a few decades ago when the reverse is true. Violent crime is down 65% since 1993. http://reason.com/blog/2012/10/30/violent-crime-rate-continues-two-decade  DH and I stopped watching the 24 hr news networks years ago and it's been wonderful for our mental health. Some nights we'll watch the 6pm news, other days we'll just get the highlights online. 

 

I do however blame schools some as well. The public schools that my friends send their kids to have eliminated or greatly cut back on recess and PE and have increased homework load a lot since I was a kid. Kindergarten and 1st graders coming home with an hour of homework a night- not including reading time. 

 

I don't think it's an all or nothing issue, but a variety of contributing factors.

[Library Momma]

My children have quite a busy schedule filled with sports and other extras.  They do still however have time to play,quite a bit of time. They just don't play as often in the neighborhood. They actually use each other's activity time to play.  During my daughter's soccer practices and games my ds is playing with a group of "brothers."  they run around and play near the field, or on adjacent playgrounds.  He does the same during her basketball games, dance classes and girl scout meetings.  My dd on the other hand "hangs out" with other kids while he is taking martial arts classes and does flag football.  They look forward to that time as much as they do their structured activities.  When you add that to the scheduled playdates and neigborhood friends it adds up to quite a bit of time spent just playing.

[Spy Car]

I agree with you on the fear thing - the media sensationalizes the "dangers" of the world so much that you'd think we were living in a much dangerous world than a few decades ago when the reverse is true. Violent crime is down 65% since 1993. http://reason.com/blog/2012/10/30/violent-crime-rate-continues-two-decade DH and I stopped watching the 24 hr news networks years ago and it's been wonderful for our mental health. Some nights we'll watch the 6pm news, other days we'll just get the highlights online.

 

I do however blame schools some as well. The public schools that my friends send their kids to have eliminated or greatly cut back on recess and PE and have increased homework load a lot since I was a kid. Kindergarten and 1st graders coming home with an hour of homework a night- not including reading time.

 

I don't think it's an all or nothing issue, but a variety of contributing factors.

I might be more inclined to blame the schools if I saw the streets filled with playing children during their summers off. But—although we have a little group that's trying to buck the trend—I don't see that happening.

 

I'm pro-play. I'd like to see more of it. My son's homework is pretty slight, and not an impediment to his play. Parents locking their children indoors, or only allowing adult supervised recreation, or allowing endless hours of TV and Mindcraft is a much bigger problem from my perspective. Not even a close call.

 

Bill

[Soror]

I agree w/ you Bill to a large extent. I think tv and our fear are certainly take more playtime than anything else. People talk about how more dangerous the world and this belief persists despite the actual facts, the media is very effective in this regard.

 

I do however see school playing a role in the reduction of playtime. I know from those I know w/ kids in ps homework is certainly increased over when I was in school. My niece is in 3rd and has had homework since 1st, to me any homework is too much at that age. Full day school has gotten younger and younger as well.

[Joyofsixreboot]

As a parent who pushes play ( just short of locking them out) there really are no other kids for mine to play with. Most kids go to daycare or after care until their parent bring them home about 6. Then it's sports,dinner, homework , and bed. I suppose they are playing at after care but not in the neighborhood. I agree that screens are stealing hours too. I am the only parent I personally know who sets limits on that.

[msjones]

Around here it's sports that are the 'culprit.'  Most kids I know do four seasons of sports per year.  

 

Also, lots of childcare  --  many kids don't come home until dinnertime and then they have homework or sports after dinner.

 

[Lucy the Valiant]

I think Bill's observations are spot-on, but I also think the 2 are linked: the schools *ARE* scheduling kids more and more *BECAUSE* the parents (as a whole) are supporting it (because they fear the "bad scary things" of unscheduled time and feel much better w/kids in scheduled events).

 

There are obvious exceptions, but I think the links are there. 

 

Kids learn to solve problems when they play.

[BYE]

I was having this conversation with a friend. Our childhoods would be considered "free range". Not because our parents ascribed to that philosophy for our well being. We had "free range" freedoms because our parents didn't care enough to be bothered.

 

I believe that my freedoms as a child really shaped and helped me mature as an adult. I was in and out of neighbors houses. I ride my bike all day through town and I freely explored any and all woods. And I swam in nearby creeks occasionally.

 

Those experiences gave me a lot of knowledge and maturity. However, I don't and will not ascribe to that lifestyle. I have horrible and almost non-existent relationships with my parents. My running around freely wasn't for my benefit. It was a symptom of a dysfunctional family dynamic.

 

I haven't ever met a family who allowed this type of free play who also cultivated the types of relationships I desire to have with my children. They probably exist. I just haven't met them.

 

I also don't agree with the idea that the news media sensationalism is the reason parents are afraid. Yes the news media puts the stories out there, but they don't create child abductions, child rapists, and child pornographers. Have those statistics gone down?

 

So the question is...how do you allow "free play" in this society? I go outside with my kids and watch them play. We try to go outside everyday and they play a lot inside. But they will never have the experiences I had as a kid. The risk is too high.

[sewingmama]

I think our society is becoming a lot less child friendly then when I was a kid. I remember playing tennis on the road outside our house and the drivers always seemed to be mindful that kids might be playing outside and drove slowly...we always had enough time to spot a car and move off the road before it became a danger to us....even playing close to a corner. These days people have bigger cars that will do a lot more damage...we lived in a cul de sac and the drivers would still fly around the corner way over the speed limit all the time. I've seen adults yelling at kids they have no right to be playing on the footpath or in a vacant lot or even in a park if it is annoying them. Any kids roaming the neighbourhood these days are viewed with suspicion by adults ....I regularly hear comments about how if kids are allowed to roam the streets they will just get into trouble or if a child is playing anywhere but in their own backyard the parents are neglectful.

 

In the area I live in there are no kids and all the adults work. We go to the park and there are no kids...not even toddlers. The few times there have been kids they were there with their grandparent or daycare provider.

 

I dont believe that its always because the kids are too busy but because the parents are too busy. Too busy working, too busy hanging out on their Ipads, too busy with their adult commitments that nobody is home to supervise children at play. When I was a kid if you had any trouble you could just run into any house with kids playing in the yard and there would be a mum home to help you. We used to have a "safety house " program where all the houses where a parent would be home before and after school on a school route would display a yellow sticker on their mailbox and if a child ran into trouble walking back and forth from school they could go in there and know someone would be home. They had to give up that program as there were just not enough people home after school.

 

I cant tell you how many times I've been at the park with my kids and a car will pull up, the doors fling open and the mum yells "hurry up kids you have 10 minutes to play then we have to go do such and such" And the kids run about madly whilst mum sits in the car on the phone and madly beeps the horn when time is up. 10 minutes is so not enough time to play or burn off energy for kids that have been in class all day...but parents are just so on the go its like one more thing on the to do list....take kids to park for 10 mins..check.

 

I'll admit I get like this too some days. We have an unfenced pond not 50 metres from our house so I cant let my kids outside the front unsupervised...and sure I would rather be inside doing housework then watching my kids play for hours a day but the only alternative is to confine them to the house ....so I sympathise when parents keep their kids in because they don't want to have to supervise...which I agree you have to do a lot more these days then back when we were kids and other adults were more willing to help with the supervising.

[walkermamaof4]

Thanks to dh, my kids and the neighborhood kids have discovered the games Jailbreak and Kick the Can and have been playing them till dark every night for weeks. Even the college-aged neighbor girl joined in when she was home. This is a huge change for this neighborhood and I am thrilled. Now they all call begging to play as early as they can. 

 

Do you all know other games we can teach them that they might all enjoy together outside, no matter what their age range? The youngest is 7.