Recess is necessary for all kids – stop taking it away!

Laura Petix 0:00 So can we just think about this for a second? Recess is so necessary and so vital that the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Center for Disease Control and Prevention, had to create a research brief on the benefits of recess. So it’s that important. It was that much of a national crisis that they had to step in and say this. And as of now, from what I’ve seen recently, only nine states require daily recess at the elementary level. Welcome to the sensory wise solutions podcast for parents, where parents can get real, actionable strategies to support kids with sensory processing disorder. I’m Laura OT and mom to Liliana, a sensory sensitive kid who inherited my anxiety and my love for all things Disney. Consider me your new ot mom, bestie, I know my stuff, but I also know what it’s really like in the trenches of parenting a child with sensory processing disorder. Okay, mom, enough about me. Let’s start the podcast. Hello everyone. Welcome back today. We’re gonna dive into a topic that has been circling my DMs for a while now, and I thought that this would be a good time to tackle it while we are at the beginning of the school year for some of us, depending on where in the world you are living. But before we fully dive in, I want to take this time to invite you to join us for the Fall 2024 sensory detectives boot camp, which is now open for enrollment if you’re listening to this between September 8 and September 13. So it’s a four week live group coaching program where I’m going to teach you how to think like an OT by observing your child’s regulation needs as they relate to vestibular proprioception and tactile input, those are the three quote main players that I use when thinking about sensory strategies to help kids nervous systems. Over four weeks and five trainings, you’ll become experts at noticing dysregulation and knowing exactly how to respond in the moment to better optimize more calm and regulation. And just to share what previous alum have thought about this program, one person said, this truly has been so invaluable. I’ve never taken a course where I had to had access to the presenters in the way that you made yourself so available to us, I’m so grateful. I highly recommend this course. The depth of information you shared with your program will be valuable for many years ahead. So if you want to learn more about sensory detectives boot camp and how to join us before September 13, then head to the OT butterfly.com/boot camp. All right. Picture this, the recess bell rings and all the students just burst out from their classrooms. They grab their lunch boxes, they sit with their friends, maybe they grab a basketball they go running out to the playground, except your child, because they’re stuck inside staring at a textbook. Why? Because they quote didn’t behave in class. Because they quote didn’t listen and they quote didn’t get their work done, or because they were quote goofing around. I personally didn’t pull this scenario out of my overly active imagination, which my therapist says I have this is something that’s actually happening. I get DMS all the time that sound something like my kindergartner or first grader or second grader is having some behavioral issues that we’re working through in the classroom, and the teacher’s response to this has been to not allow my child to go out for recess. I can’t help but feel icky hearing about this, but I don’t know what to say, or if I’m right to question this. The fact that parents are not trusting their gut and thinking like they don’t have a right to stand up and speak out against this breaks my heart. So if you feel like you want to say something, if you feel frustrated, if you feel heartbroken for your child who might be missing out on recess, stick around, because in this episode, we’re definitely going to talk about why this approach might be doing more harm than good, and what you as a parent can do about it, because at the end of the day, the kids who are kept home from recess are the very ones who need it the most. All right, so if you’re short on time, I’m just going to start right out of the gate and say this, removing recess as a form of punishment is counterproductive. At best, and it is harmful at worst, especially for kids who are neurodivergent, or those who struggle with behavioral challenges, which, by the way, many of them happen to be neurodivergent. Their nervous system needs that movement, needs the fresh air, needs the leisure, the unstructured time, in order to be more regulated in the classroom. If you don’t believe me, here’s a statement directly from the Academy, the American Academy of Pediatrics, which was originally made in 2013 but was recently reaffirmed in April of 2023 they said recess is at the heart of a vigorous debate over the role of schools in promoting the optimal development of the whole child. A growing trend toward reallocating time in school to accentuate more academic subjects has put this important facet of a child’s school day at risk recess serves as a necessary break from the rigors of concentrated academic challenges in the classroom, but equally important is the fact that safe and well supervised recess offers cognitive, social, emotional and physical benefits that may not be fully appreciated when a decision is made to diminish it. Recess is unique from and a compliment to physical education, not a substitute for it. The American Academy of Pediatrics believes that recess is a crucial and necessary component of a child’s development, and as such, it should not be withheld for punitive or academic reasons. I mean, what is there to argue with that? But we’re going to break it down a bit. So first in this episode, I’m going to highlight the importance of recess to all kids. Then we’re going to touch on the increased need for movement for neurodivergent children. All of this, by the way, driven by research, which I’m linking everything in the show notes for you. And then we will end with what schools should be doing based on the national recommendations in the US. And I’m also going to leave you a three step process at the end, if you want to start taking action and advocating and creating some change in your local school and community. Okay, let’s first talk about the importance of recess. Recess is not just a break, of course, it is the break, and it’s fun and all of those things, but it’s actually a vital part of the school day. According to the CDC, recess helps improve children’s physical activity, social skills and even academic outcomes like higher grades and test scores. So it might sound counterintuitive, but giving kids time to play actually helps them learn better, specifically the CDC notes students who participate in at least 20 minutes of daily recess, which is the minimum recommended amount, demonstrate improved memory, attention and concentration. And this is because physical activity increases blood flow to the brain, which enhances cognitive function. Sorry, if I’m talking in like a weird tone, it’s just like, I can’t believe that it’s 2024, and such a simple concept of letting our kids move and play throughout their day is something that like requires as much research and proof. So this is not directed at you, if you think I’m like talking to you like you’re five, but this is just like I thought we all knew this by now. Okay. Anyway, the CDC also notes and mentions that after recess, children come back to the classroom more attentive and ready to absorb new information. So let’s think of it like, like a reset button, like, if your computer or your phone is running slow, you’re not just gonna, like, yell at it, right? You’re gonna turn it off and restart it. So recess is kind of like that. It’s a restart to the brain that after they come back from recess, they’ll, they’ll, most of them will be refreshed and more engaged and less less restless in the classroom. So again, they specifically call out how physical activity and a 20 minute break at recess can improve memory, attention and concentration. Hello. Are these not the very skills that those kids are struggling with? Who are the ones who then get in trouble for not having enough memory, attention and concentration, and so then they have to stay in from recess, yet recess is then going to prohibit them from not having better memory, attention and concentration like make it make sense. The CDC also emphasizes that recess allows children to practice key social skills such as sharing, negotiation and collaborating with peers. So if we think about it, during recess. There’s no There’s no main rules. Obviously there’s safety rules, but like they can talk to whoever they want to, however they want play whatever games they want, they learn how to resolve conflicts that will come up. They learn how to decide what games to play, manage the rules of those games, manage group dynamics, and these are skills that are going to be carried with them back into the classroom and even outside of the classroom, my daughter always shares the most elaborate, random pretend place schemes that she makes up with her friends. And if she didn’t have that access, if she didn’t have recess, she wouldn’t really get this opportunity anywhere. We have no neighbors or cousins, really that are her age, and no siblings to provide that kind of interaction. Sure I could enroll her in certain programs, but again, those are structured. She’s not going to get this unstructured time with peers that she enjoys being around unless she got recess, even with the drama that comes with the friendship circles that she shares a lot of, because there’s a lot of them at this age for little girls, but even I still find those things beneficial for her social emotional growth. Studies show that recess can lead to better school connectedness and a more positive school climate. Kids who feel more connected to their peers and their school are less likely to experience behavioral problems, and they tend to have better attendance and classroom behavior. And just to make this even more obvious, imagine how it negatively affects their interactions with peers and perceptions of themselves, if they’re always getting in trouble and they’re labeled as the bad kid or labeled as a troublemaker, and not only in the classroom, but then their peers notice that they have to sit out of recess, that that is going to have a huge impact on them. So can we just think about this for a second. Recess is so necessary and so vital that the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Center for Disease Control and Prevention, had to create a research brief on the benefits of recess. So it’s that important. It was that much of a national crisis that they had to step in and say this and as of now, from what I’ve seen recently, based on the state policy database, and I’m linking that again in the show notes below, only nine states require daily recess at the elementary level. Those states specifically are Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Missouri, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Virginia and West Virginia. I’m looking at this list and I’m like, Hello California. Why are we not on there? If you want to learn more about your state’s particular views and policies on recess, then head to the show notes for the link again. This is the state policy database. But outside of those nine states that I listed, some states have a like recommended recess policy, so not required, but like recommended, and others have no policies at all about how to implement recess, or, like, how long so more statistics for you, 90% of elementary schools offer scheduled recess for grades K through five. Okay, that’s great, but less than 35% of those continue that for sixth graders. And depending on your school, we have sixth grade in our elementary school, so that’s why that statistic is there. But even worse than that, so since the mid 2000s up to 40% of school districts have reduced or cut recess entirely. What I don’t know if that’s specific to elementary schools or even middle schools, but that statistic like blew my mind. Okay, so what exactly does this mean for neurodivergent children? I know those of you listening to this exact episode, I know you know about the needs of neurodivergent kids. I know I’m preaching to the choir here, but let’s just state the obvious neurodivergent children, no matter the diagnosis or particular neurotype, neurodivergent children have a higher need for the benefits that recess produces than neurotypical kids. Yes, neurotypical kids need recess. We already mentioned that, but neurodivergent kids have a higher need to coop to get those benefits that we talked about from recess. They need those social emotional skills. They need the social interaction practice. They need the unstructured time, the leisure time, the sensory input, more than neurotypical kids, and yet, neurodivergent kids are usually the ones that are withheld. From recess, the ones that are getting in trouble, they have a higher support need when it comes to executive functioning and sensory processing, both of those underlying skills directly lead to better learning and behavior when you can access your executive functioning skills when you can access learning through sensory processing abilities, you’re going to see a better behaved, better regulated child in the classroom. In the CDC brief, they call out the fact that students who are allowed to move around during recess often return to class with improved mood and reduced stress levels. And of course, this is particularly important for children who might experience sensory overload from the classroom. So it’s not just the kids who are sensory seekers. I myself am someone who does not need a lot of extra movement through the day. I do need to move around, but I’m not necessarily a vestibular seeker like your kid who like needs that swinging right, but recess is also offering the child a break from the structured demands of the classroom and gives them a chance to release built up energy in a healthy way that’s stated from the CDC. If I were to rephrase that, I would say it gives them a chance to fill up their nervous system with the vestibular and proprioceptive input they crave. That cannot be replicated in a classroom. That’s the key point. It can’t be regulated and replicated in a classroom. I know a lot of classrooms will do like yoga breaks and go noodle breaks, but they’re limited by the space and like no equipment there, kids need to run free play, tag at fast speeds, hang, climb, swing. You cannot do that in a classroom. So it’s good to implement those little movement breaks. But that’s not enough. If I personally were in school today with the sensory needs that I have as a sensitive person, I probably wouldn’t depend on recess for, you know, like intense movement, like I mentioned, but I would definitely rely on recess to use as a nervous system break, or like a reset from the classroom, because the classroom to a highly sensitive, hyper aware nervous system is just full of overwhelming sensory input. There’s bright, flickering lights, there’s smells, there’s sounds, there’s chatter and clutter and just other people in your space. Kids who have this kind of sensitive nervous system may still need recess for a break, but maybe to have quiet time to themselves breathe fresh air, even if it means they’re alone or preferring not to be with a friend, if they just need some time and space themselves, that’s still a nervous system reset that they can’t get in a classroom. Honestly, even me today, right now, at 36 years old, when I go to like, a big family party, which I’m Filipino, all family parties are big. There’s a lot of people. We have, so many cousins, so many aunts, so many uncles. I frequently use the bathroom as a sensory break, like I will pretend like I had to go to the bathroom, or I’ll step outside and act like I need to get something for my car and sit in the car for like, five to 10 minutes scrolling on my phone just to escape the busy environment and all the conversation and things like that. Right? Kids need this opportunity to reset their nervous system in whatever way that they need, if we expect them to remain regulated for upwards of like six hours. And if you have a child with high sensory needs, high movement needs, recess is absolutely necessary for them to meet those needs, no question about it. So here’s what we should rightly expect and honestly demand from our schools. This is taken from the CDC brief directly. Again, I will link that below, provide all students K through 12 with 20 minutes or more. So 20 minutes is the bare minimum of recess daily or similar, daily period of some sort of physical activity which needs to be separate from PE that’s a key point. We should also expect that they incorporate recess into the planning for a comprehensive school physical activity program, that they do not replace physical education or PE with recess, or use recess to meet time requirements for physical education policies. So there are separate. Policies on the requirements of how many minutes and what the quality is of physical education or PE, and that’s separate from what kids should get from the physical movement and opportunities from recess. They can’t be double dipping and being like, Oh well, they got 20 minutes of PE today. So I It’s okay for me to take away recess. No, they need to be completely separate. We need to provide schools. We need to expect schools and students to have adequate spaces, facilities, equipment and supplies for recess. We need to make sure that they have spaces and facilities for recess that meet or exceed recommended safety standards. We need to expect and request that they do not exclude students from recess for disciplinary reasons or academic performance in the classroom, and we need to expect and demand that they do not use physical activity during recess as punishment. This one is important, because I’ve also heard from some families who shared that teachers had, like, forced their child to run laps or, like, do something physical as punishment, and so they think that this is a loophole, because, like, oh, look, they’re still getting outdoor time, they’re still getting movement, but it’s still super unacceptable for so many obvious reasons, so make sure you’re looking into that as well. We also need to be expecting that they schedule morning recess before lunch. And here’s one that’s really important provide staff members who lead or supervise recess with professional development. I know sometimes lunch monitors or other recess supervisor are volunteers or people from in the community that are not necessarily part of school staff or admin. They’re not always teachers. They need specific recess based, like, physical movement based, sensory integration based, social, emotional like, collaboration, all of those things they need professional development on that, because they are the ones who are managing the the conflicts, and they are the ones that are implementing rules and interacting with their kids during recess. All right, so if you’re a parent wondering, okay, I hear you like I really need to make this change. What do I do? Here are three steps that you should take. First is open up the conversation with the school. Whether you approach your child’s teacher or the school admin, say something along the lines of, I’ve been hearing that, or I noticed that recess has been taken away as a consequence for behavior in the classroom. I want to understand more about this practice and see if we can collaborate on some alternative ideas, because I’ve read that it may not be effective and might actually harm children who need that physical break to focus better. So I like this, this conversation starter, because it’s you’re saying, I want to understand more. Where is this coming from, rather than directly attacking them. And then you’re also saying, Let’s collaborate. I’m not just saying you’re doing something wrong. Fix it. I’m saying I want to help you. Can we come up with something, something different? Then you want to make sure that you provide evidence based information. Again, I’m linking all the articles below. Feel free to copy and paste that they it’s it’s all there that you really cannot argue with the way that this information and this research has been put out by the CDC and a statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics. Then you want to suggest alternatives to punishment. So if this is in relation to your particular child, I would educate them on what works best for your child at home, so how you respond to your child when they’re not listening or they needed more direction. Now, of course, not all approaches that you offer at home will be feasible in a classroom environment with one teacher and multiple kids, and yet, this doesn’t mean that the only solution is to punish them by removing recess. Both of those might not be an option the way that maybe, if you’re like extra one on one time at home, is what your child’s response to best, and your teacher can’t offer that. It doesn’t mean that the only other option is to remove recess. You can also take this time to educate the teacher or the school staff on the sensory needs that your child particularly has. Talk to them about neurodiversity, talk to them about how it’s your child’s nervous system that has this actual need to move and to have fresh air and to take a break from the overwhelming sensory environment of the classroom and see if there’s some accommodations that you could implement throughout the day, outside of recess that would help curb some of the behaviors that they’re seeing. I know it’s easier said than done, and I’m just kind of throwing that at you, but that’s that’s the approach. I would take but the bottom line is this, our kids need more movement and more breaks than they are currently getting in schools. 20 minutes of recess is the bare minimum. No amount of recess should be taken away from a child. Ever remember that advocacy starts with small steps, like questioning a policy, suggesting an alternative, asking to understand why they have that approach. I would suggest even partnering with the PTA if you want sort of this, like strength in numbers, or hire someone to do some professional education for the staff. If taking away recess isn’t working, which, by the way, the research shows it is not, then find better solutions. Let’s help create a school environment where all kids can thrive and learn and grow, regardless of neurotype, regardless of ability, regardless of behavior status, we want our kids to feel safe and comfortable in the classroom, and that starts with their nervous system. If the nervous system perceives a threat or danger from not feeling enough movement or not having enough quiet time, it’s going to react with behaviors that was a lot. I hope you can tell that this is coming from a place of passion, not judgment on any of you here. And I want to give a shout out to teachers. I know even the teachers that have had to resort to this are getting this kind of like dictated to them from higher ups. So I’m not blaming teachers directly. Of course, there are some teachers who could benefit from a little bit more education. But this starts higher up. You’re not going to find out where to start unless you have the conversation before you go. I want to again remind you that if you’re listening to this on the week of September 8, my group coaching, four week intensive program, sensory detectives. Boot Camp is open for enrollment until September 13. The next time I will open. This is probably not until spring, if not summer, so it’s open to all parents, educators and therapists. I’ll teach you how to use the vestibular, the proprioceptive and tactile systems to regulate your child or student, specifically between the ages of preschool and the early elementary years. To find out more and how to register head to the OT butterfly.com/boot camp. All right, I’ll talk to you next time. If you enjoyed this podcast, please consider rating it and leaving a review, which helps other parents find me as well. Want to learn more from me. I share tons more over on Instagram at the OT butterfly, see you next time you. Transcribed by https://otter.ai