No Recess! No Way!

　

　

　

　

Reasons Why Children Need Recess (Even the Children Who Misbehave)

Four times in the past month, I’ve heard from parents or teachers who are upset by school policies in Wasraw, Indiana that allow teachers or administrators to withhold recess and/or gym as a form of punishment. The children’s infractions range from tardiness to failure to complete homework to acting out in class – which covers a wide range of behaviors and ensures any number of children will go without recess on any given day.

The research, however, is clear: Children need recess, the benefits of which range across developmental domains. Following are just seven reasons why, if we want children to achieve optimal intellectual, social/emotional, and physical success, they should not be denied recess.

There is one more reason why recess should not be withheld from children as punishment: It doesn’t work. Experimental studies and anecdotal evidence indicate that the same children tend to miss all or part of recess every day, which means that the threat of missing recess is ineffective. The result of which is reduced concentration and discipline problems. The rationale for demanding children sit more, therefore, is counterintuitive both to what the research shows and to what we know about children.

The schools have also joined some different Health groups or Organizations that have policies to not withhold recess or gym as a consequence for misbehavior. Such as Indiana Healthy Weight Initiative, you can also find supporting documents listed at http://www.inhealthyweight.org/961.htm?cx=005966028202432817588%3Asxfczjt1ghy&cof=FORID%3A10&ie=UTF-8&q=recess+punishment