Study Shows US Children Need More Play

Scientists at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York report in a new study that American children who do not benefit from a small recess between classes are far more likely to become unruly in classrooms and to lack developed social skills, as compared with their peers. The research has been conducted on more than 10,000 children, aged 8 and 9, to determine how the stress of having to learn throughout the school day affects their mind. The experts note that even a 15 minute-long break from study can be highly beneficial to youngsters.

Dr. Romina Barros, AECM researcher, says that the research has not been conducted during a specified time frame, but that the children have been asked about how they feel throughout the day, before class, as well as afterwards. "The available research suggests that recess may play an important role in the learning, social development, and health of children in elementary school," she adds.

The new study, published in the American Academy of Pediatrics' journal Pediatrics, also draws attention to the fact that kids get less time to practice sports at school, and that the overall amount of free time they have while in the educational institutions diminishes yearly. This is happening "because many school districts responded to the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 by reducing time committed to recess, the creative arts, and even physical education in an effort to focus on reading and mathematics," the paper reads.

"This raises concern in light of evidence that many children from disadvantaged backgrounds are not free to roam their neighborhoods or even their own yards, unless they are accompanied by adults. For many of these children, recess periods may be the only opportunity for them to practice their social skills with other children," Barros and colleagues explain.

In addition, the researchers also consider that some of the spaces designed to house recreational activities in schools have now been turned into classrooms, on account of the fact that the school system is generally overcrowded countrywide, and no new funds for building other educational institutions are available at this point, authorities say.