After years of shrinking recess time and worsening children’s health, the American Academy of Pediatrics has released a policy statement about the unstructured time at school and how it needs to be protected, saying that recess isn’t just a fun break for grade schoolers. It’s crucial to good health and good grades for kids of all ages.
The group “has always supported play – free play for kids – but it’s been increasingly threatened over time,” partly by the drive for higher test scores, said Dr. Robert Murray, a lead author. “It has a very powerful benefit if it’s used to the fullest.”
The new guidance, published in the journal Pediatrics, is similar to the previous policy statement but cites the latest research on why these breaks are essential for kids’ academic success and mental, physical, social, and emotional growth.
New evidence shows that kids need pauses between concentrated bouts of learning so the brain can hold and store the information. Researchers also say recess gives kids a chance to navigate relationships and build confidence, which is just as important for older kids as younger ones.
It also stressed the importance of physical activity in preventing obesity, a condition that now affects 1 in 5 US children and teens.
Given the benefits, they recommend that recess be protected and never withheld for academic or punitive reasons, as sometimes happens in schools.
“If the child is disruptive or rude and disrespectful, recess is one of the things that teachers use to punish kids,” Murray said, adding that students struggling with behavioral issues or grades are often the ones who need recess most.
It adds that recess has been waning for all kids, with up to 40 percent of school districts in the United States having reduced or eliminated it.
Ideally, studies show that kids should get a minimum of 20 minutes a day and multiple breaks. Students in countries such as Denmark, Japan, and the United Kingdom get breaks after every 45 to 50 minutes of classroom instruction.
“They should get a long enough period of time where they can destress and blow off steam and prepare for the next class,” Murray said.
Recess has long been under attack, ironically from educators themselves, who have a tendency to see it as unimportant and sacrificeable. It is among the first privileges to be withheld as a punishment for unruly schoolkids, and usually faces being shortened or even eliminated when there are time or scheduling constraints in school. Taking heed of the policy statement of the American Academy of Pediatrics may do our students some good, as they need all the help they can get, given the current state of education in the country.*
