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Dani Kinsley, MS, OTR/L
In Part 1 of this series, we learned about the importance of daily outdoor play, how much kids need, and
what the average American child is actually getting in a day. Here, we will explore more of the benefits of
this vital time for children.
Benefits of Recess and Outdoor Play:
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Outdoor, unstructured play helps to
rewire the brain, building connections
between the right and left hemispheres.
It helps kids become more coordinated
and better thinkers and problem solvers.
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Gross motor (large muscle movement)
play builds muscular and core strength
that is necessary for kids to sit up
straight in desks, build handwriting and
fine motor skills, and combat constant
fidgeting and fatigue in the classroom.
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Vestibular and proprioceptive input – the
type of sensory information that floods
the brain during active outdoor play
– promotes body awareness and selfregulation,
which leads to more focus
and better behavior and participation.
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Kids with sensory processing or attention
deficit issues truly need this type of play
regularly throughout the day to facilitate
learning.
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It’s also important to remember that
recess time at school might just be the
only unstructured time throughout
the day when kids really have the
opportunity to interact with peers
without direct adult intervention.
- This helps to build communication,
resilience, creativity, problem-solving,
confidence, and conflict-resolution skills.
How Can Recess Help Combat the
Excessive Number of Hours That
Kids are Inactive During the
Day?
Outdoor play helps to balance the number of
sedentary hours that kids experience in our
modern world and the amount of screen time
they are receiving daily.
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Active play helps children build strong
muscles, bones, cardiovascular systems,
and endurance. Participation in at least
one hour of moderate-to-strenuous
exercise daily can help to combat the
childhood obesity epidemic in the
United States and helps kids build the
underlying strength and stability they
need for school and general health.
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Outdoor time helps to reset the brain
and balances excessive screen time:
Screen addictions and drug addictions
have been shown on imaging studies
to activate the same parts of the brain
and cause many of the same neural
reactions. Screens can affect the brain’s
frontal cortex – which controls executive
functioning, including impulse control
– in exactly the same way that cocaine
does. Technology is so hyper-arousing
that it raises dopamine levels – the feelgood
neurotransmitter most involved in
the addiction dynamic – consistently in a
way that becomes increasingly harder to
chase, especially for fans of fast-paced or
violent video games.
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We already noted in Part 1 of this series
that kids are getting on average a
whopping 7-8 hours in front of a screen
for entertainment each day. Over a
year, that adds up to 114 full days of
watching a screen for fun.
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Teachers should be encouraged to avoid
substituting outdoor, unstructured
recess time with screen time if weather
is an issue. Students would benefit
much more from group activities such
as teacher-led yoga, indoor exercise,
or free time to play non-digital games
or socialize with friends. Teachers and
classrooms should be equipped with
options and resources for rainy-day play.
How to Get Involved:
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It is important for parents to partner
with teachers, administrators, and
elected officials to protect recess and all
of the amazing benefits it can provide
for students.
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To learn more about how to get
involved with protecting recess at
your local school, contact your child’s
teacher or school administrators to find
out how much recess time students
are receiving. You can also join your
local Parent Teacher Association or
Organization (PTA/PTO) or attend
public School Board meetings in your
community to advocate for protecting
or extending daily recess.
Resources
Additional Resources
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