Kids Need a Great Place to Play!

You know when you were a kid, you loved to play. It was how you learned to be silly, discover your imagination, and find your first friend. When children play, we see how they build character and competence: it lets them be active in the construction of their social lives, connect with the outdoors, stay physically fit, and develop into healthy adults. Over the past two decades, children's level of physical activity has plummeted, contributing to some of our most pressing social problems, such as obesity and underachievement in school. Play also has strong ties to reducing youth violence and breaking the intractable cycle of poverty.

Obesity. The prevalence of obesity has doubled in American children, increasing the probability of continued obesity as adults and short- and long-term risk of negative health outcomes, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and certain forms of cancer.¹ Today, obesity-related health problems are the second-leading cause of premature death in the United States,² costing an estimated $117 billion.³ The key solution is prevention, says former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson, and helping students increase physical activity is one of the most important ways to put prevention into action.⁴

School underachievement. Nearly one out of three public high school students fail to graduate.⁵ Physical activity leads to stronger academic achievement, increased concentration, and improved math, reading, and writing test scores.⁶ Children, who may be below average on language and cognition skills, do much better in early school achievement if they are physically healthy and have strong social and emotional skills, which are highly correlated with play.⁷

Violence. Research on preschool educational programs with a self-directed play component has shown reduction in overall arrests, arrests for violent crimes, property and drug crimes, and subsequent prison or jail sentences revealed in a longitudinal study tracking groups of children for 37 years.⁸ Also, the existence of play facilities in communities has been observed to reduce youth crime and vandalism.⁹

Poverty. Over 12.9 million children under the age of 18 lived in poverty in 2003.¹⁰ Children entering kindergarten from lower socioeconomic groups have poorer academic, social, and physical well-being, which continues as they grow older.¹¹ Those children who regularly participate in organized physical activities are more likely to be academically on track. However, the ones from lower socioeconomic groups have less access to organized activities such as sports teams; thus outdoor playgrounds are often their only real option to engage in physical activity.¹² Play also provides a space where children from lower socioeconomic groups can find comfort when the home environment is poor and meet on more equal footing with children from higher socioeconomic groups. Researchers have found that play can be the starting point for tackling social exclusion, engaging with marginalized families, and communities and working to build their capacity to improve their social, environmental and economic circumstances.¹³

LIFE, LIBERTY AND THE PURSUIT OF PLAY!

Our nation must not rest until every child in America has a great place to play within walking distance of their home or school. We must collectively seek to spark nothing short of a revolution in the way that people in our country value children and their physical, emotional, and social development through play. Collectively we can help communities change the lives and futures of millions of children.

FOOTNOTES

1. Surgeon General's Call To Action To Prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity, 2001.

2. The risk factors of nutrition and inadequate physical activity contribute to arthritis, asthma, cancer, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and other deadly and debilitating diseases. Tobacco is the first leading cause of premature death. America's Health: State Health Rankings a collaborative report by the United Health Foundation, the American Public Health Association and Partnership for Prevention. URL: http://www.unitedhealthfoundation.org/shr2004/.

3. America's Health: State Health Rankings, a collaborative report by the United Health Foundation, the American Public Health Association and Partnership for Prevention. URL: http://www.unitedhealthfoundation.org/ahr2005.html.

4. Department of Health and Human Services. Steps to a Healthier U.S.: The Power of Prevention. 2003.

5. Swanson, Christopher B., Who Graduates? Who Doesn't?: A Statistical Portrait of Public High School Graduation, Class of 2001, Education Policy Center, The Urban Institute, February 2004 URL: http://www.urban.org/publications/410934.html.

6. Symons, C.W., Cinelli, B., James, T.C., Groff, P. Bridging student health risks and academic achievement through comprehensive school health programs. Journal of School Health 1997; 67(6): 220-227.

7. Hair, E. C., Halle, T., Terry-Humen, E., and Calkins, J. (2003, April). Naturally occurring patterns of school readiness: How the multiple dimensions of school readiness fit together. Paper presented at the 2003 Biennial Meeting for the Society for Research in Child Development; Tampa, FL.

8. Only 9% of children in self-initiated play in a loosely structured pre-school environment had been arrested for a felony at ages 22-23, as compared to 34% of those children in a highly directive pre-school environment where teachers rewarded them for correct answers. Furthermore, no child in the first group had ever been suspended from work, as compared to 27% of those in the later group. See Schweinhart, L. J., Montie, J., Xiang, Z., Barnett, W. S., Belfield, C. R., & Nores, M. Lifetime effects: The High/Scope Perry Preschool study through age 40. (Monographs of the High/Scope Educational Research Foundation). Ypsilanti, MI: High/Scope Press.

9. Hampshire R and Wilkinson S, Youth Shelters and Sports Systems: A good practice guide, Thames Valley Police, 1999.  See also, There is evidence that community play facilities can reduce youth crime and vandalism. For instance, projects examined by Thames Valley Police (Hampshire and Wilkinson 1999) showed significant reductions in vandalism and petty crime following the installation of play facilities and a youth shelter. The usual argument for this is that play provision provides a diversion for children, an alternative to anti-social or criminal behaviour. However the truth is likely to be more complex. Play can provide developmental opportunities for addressing some of the underlying emotional and psychological causes of suchbehaviour. Full report URL: http://www.ncb.org.uk/resources/bestplay.pdf.

10. U.S. Census Bureau, Current Population Survey, 2004 Annual Social and Economic Supplement.

11. This study looked at the continuation of these measures through first grade. Vandivere, S., Pitzer, L., Halle, T. G., Hair, EC. Indicators of Early School Success and Child Well-Being, Cross Currents, Issue 3, October 2004. Child Trends, 10.

12. Fields, Jason M., Kristin Smith, Loretta E. Bass, and Terry Lugaila. 2001. A Childs Day: Home, School, and Play (Selected Indicators of Child Well-Being). Current Population Reports, P70-68. U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC.

13. Hill-Tout J, Lindsell S. and Pithouse A., Evaluation of the Venture, Caia Park, Wrexham, School of Social and Administrative Studies, University of Wales, College of Cardiff, 1995. Found in Best Play: What Play Provisions Should do for Children, National Playing Fields Association, March 2000. Full report URL: http://www.ncb.org.uk/resources/bestplay.pdf.