Is playtime over for our children?

When I was a kid I loved playing hide and go seek.

When the weather was bad outdoors me and my sisters would play it in the house (man, did it drive my mother nuts).

When the weather was nice I would get together with all the other kids in the neighborhood and we used our entire block as our play area. We would hide in trees, under cars, even on rooftops.

If there were a Children's Game Play Hall of Fame, hide and go seek would be at the top of the list of inductees.

There was such an innocence to the game. I remember when a new child would want to join a game me and my friends had already started, we were like "Sure! But you're it." We would all then scurry away to our hiding places while he/she counted to 10.

But it was this little act of acceptance that separates what was then from the way things are now.

Today I see more teasing, bullying and cheating when children play. Sure, we all dealt with this when were younger, but it was resolved quickly and we continued on.

Why?

Because it was fun to play!

Today there is more of a mean initiation process, where the new kid has to prove himself worthy to be able to join in on a game.

And if the new kid even looks or sounds remotely "funny" to the other kids, forget about it. They receive a big "No!" Or equally as worse, they get told "yes" and then become the target for relentless teasing and hitting.

Children today lack the proper social skills that come with fair game play. They are bombarded with a message of win at all costs and the celebration of selfish solo efforts rather than teamwork.

Combine this with unfair limited resources such as reduced P.E. time, equipment, space and untrained staff and you have the perfect recipe for aggression, low self-esteem, obesity, and a decreased motivation to be active.

Check out this interesting article that was recently printed in the New York Times called Playtime is Over. Op-ed contributor, David Elkind, writes about the increase in what are called "recess coaches." These are individuals who have been specially trained in how to manage conflict, organize structured activities and promote fair game play.

Did you ever think you would see the day where recess would be run like a classroom?

In his article Mr. Elkind questions whether or not roles like "recess coaches" will be able to bring play back to our schools. Although I share his same curiosity, I strongly feel we need more programs that focus on structured play.

In my work I have observed too many afterschool programs that have untrained staff leading unstructured physical activity time. I have seen children curled up in the corner crying, kids getting smacked in head with a playground ball, fights, and lots of sitting around.

The good news is that after one of our Everyone Plays workshops, we get reports of increased activity, less behavior issues, and more sharing and cooperation.

The mission of our Fit 4 Life Kids program is to keep children and active and fit, but it is our Play with a Purpose model that echos old-school principles like cooperation, sharing, an all-inclusive environment, and teamwork.

So the next time you see your students, nephews/nieces or your own children playing a game like hide and go seek, jump in and show them what it means to play fair.