The Washington Post – Valerie Strauss
“I was in the middle of feeding my baby boy, when the phone rang. “I need your help,” the person on the other line said. It was an old friend of mine. “Our school is making it mandatory that the children walk laps during recess time.” She went on to tell me that their recess was only 20 minutes long and that walking a few laps at the start of every session was now encroaching on their already extremely limited amount of free play during school hours. The physical education teacher had implemented the new policy in order to get children more active. I honestly believe that the school has the best of intentions. They truly want to help the children. With an epidemic of obesity among children, many schools are searching for the best way to help children become more physically fit and healthy. However, we are going about it all wrong. If we truly want children to be strong and physically adept, we need to start allowing for more opportunities for free play and less adult-directed movement activities. Here’s why.”(more)