If we want our kids to thrive, we need to let them play. It sounds simple. But somehow, we’ve made it complicated.
Over the last two decades, since the passage of the federal No Child Left Behind Act, kids have been offered less and less time to play.
The pressures to meet arbitrary academic benchmarks meant that time previously dedicated to activity, like physical education and recess, was reallocated to more testing and test preparation.
In the 1970s, children received an average of 90 to 120 minutes of recess a day split into several breaks in the school day. Today, about 40 percent of school districts have cut back or eliminated recess all together — especially in larger, low-wealth schools.
Experts recommend a minimum of 30 minutes of recess every day, but many, many children aren’t getting that.
Whether due to jam-packed schedules, understaffing, or too much testing and test prep, school recess is often treated as an extra — something squeezed in after the "real work" in a classroom is done.
But the truth is: Play IS the real work of childhood. And the benefits don’t stop when kids leave the playground.
Play is how young children learn. It’s how they explore new skills, retain new ideas, and develop an understanding of the world around them.
As Robert Fulghum taught us in his landmark book, “All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten,” the school playground is where we learn how to share, how to play fair, conflict resolution and how to respect others.
Play helps shape the critical skills we rely on throughout our lives — empathy, flexibility, collaboration.
According to the National Institute for Play, playful experiences are linked to stronger relationships, sharper problem-solving skills, and better resilience against stress.
Research ALSO shows that when recess time in schools increases, student achievement, including test scores, go up.
So when we cut recess, when we limit free play, we aren’t just taking away a few minutes of fun. We are undermining the physical, emotional, and cognitive growth of our students — and setting them up for challenges later in life.
Children deprived of regular play are at higher risk for anxiety, depression, obesity, attention problems, and academic challenges. Without chances to run, climb, imagine and create, kids miss out on vital experiences that strengthen their brains, their bodies, and their ability to connect with others.
Play is not a privilege that kids earn. It’s a right. A developmental necessity. A cornerstone of healthy growth.
It’s the reason educators across New York are placing an emphasis on recess and play, experiential hands-on learning, and creating distraction-free learning environments with the state’s bell to bell phone ban recently passed into law.
These practices make a big difference in the lives of kids, and educators are seeing immediate results in and out of the classroom.
As I’ve traveled the state visiting districts that have already put phone-free policies in place, I’ve seen kids who have regained their natural instinct toward interactive play.
In one lunchroom I watched a group of preteens pull out a deck of playing cards for what’s become a daily activity. Without phones and social media stealing their attention, they have the freedom to explore new things and connect with their friends.
When kids are given the time and space for unstructured play, they approach other tasks and lessons more focused, more engaged, and better equipped to learn.
For kids — Play is as essential as sleep. As essential as good nutrition.
At NYSUT, we’re advocating for policies that ensure daily, protected recess time, so it is not treated as optional. Kids should get at least 30 minutes of recess a day. We’re committed to making sure play is honored, supported, and protected for every student, in every community.
Because play isn’t a distraction from learning. It’s the foundation for it.
Melinda Person is president of the nearly 700,000-member New York State United Teachers.
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