Super Eco

Photo credit: MissCGlass, stock.xchng

As a young mother, I used to agonize over whether I was packing enough "enriching," "stimulating" activities into my children's days. Fortunately, common sense kicked in before the family devolved into an overscheduled, stressed-out wreck—and now research confirms that kids actually need time to knock around on their own. A study in this month’s Pediatrics pinpoints how childrens’ performance dives without a healthy balance of free time and physical activity during the school day.

“New research suggests that play and down time may be as important to a child’s academic experience as reading, science and math, and that regular recess, fitness or nature time can influence behavior, concentration and even grades,” notes a recent blog from The New York Times.

Not only do kids need time for vigorous physical activity outdoors, they also need room to flex. Young children develop by exploring on their own terms and their own timetable, explains Joan Almon, chair of the nonprofit Alliance for Childhood. “We have a tendency to be a little bit afraid—or maybe a lot afraid—to let children have time on their own. We’re afraid they’re going to get bored—which they will. That’s the wonderful ground out of which they will discover what they’re interested in, because children don’t like to stay bored.”

Free play lets kids exercise not only their little bodies but their budding decision-making and social skills. The goal of play, Almon explains, is not to entertain children but to give them as much risk and challenge as they can handle. “Play is the arena in which they explore the world of risk." And with new research supporting free play, it sounds like this arena is now in open season.