I recently went back to South Africa with my six year old triplets. I was looking forward to spending time with my family and the relief of not being scheduled. The rural setting, where my parents were born, that I had cursed whenever they took me is littered with mud huts set on green rolling hills but without modern amenities. I agonised and worried over how my American children would fare. How would they adjust without TV, computer and electricity? 

Why should I have been surprised that they reverted back to their natural state. They used their creativity to turn sticks, stones and anything that they found into bats, balls, sling shots and any game they could think of. I watched as my shy kids amassed a group of friends that grew and grew until there were enough kids to play a heated game of soccer. As we boarded the plane and headed home for the beginning of the school year I wondered how much play they would have in their school day.

Since recess is now only 15 minutes a day surely it’s a must. We wouldn’t intentionally ignore the well documented benefits to learning, social development and health that even a 15 minute recess can provide. Realising the significance of play, I started making it a habit to ask everyday if my children had recess. I was shocked at the answers. It turns out sometimes the class takes too long doing x and so no recess or it rained 3 days ago and the equipment might still be wet or they were talking at lunch and so as  punishment the whole class stays indoors. Added to that, my 6 year old daughter was getting enough homework to last an hour. How could I expect a 6 year old who had not played outside all day to sit for an hour doing homework? The statistics that show the decline in play are staggering. Since 1970 and there has been a 50% decline in unstructured outdoor play. But I didn’t need to see the statistics to know that my kids were not getting what they needed.

To make what I considered an essential difference I placed myself in settings where I could let kids play. I coach two soccer teams, I co-lead a girl scout troop and teach Sunday school. In all these environments I see children unable to sit still and pay attention. The girl scouts get off the bus heading to my house and they are bursting with energy.  My reaction: let’s get up and move around. Let’s extend the meeting by 30 minutes for free play. Why is it abnormal for a 6 year old to want to be active?

The biggest compliment I have yet received was when a parent who was volunteering at our girl scout meeting said: “You really just let the kids be kids.” Who would want it any other way? This article first appeared in Kaboom and was a runner up in an essay competition.