BETA
This is a BETA experience. You may opt-out by clicking here

More From Forbes

Edit Story

It's Wrong For Schools To Be Banning Balls And Games At Recess

Following
This article is more than 10 years old.

by Arthur L. Caplan & Lee H. Igel

The NYU Sports & Society Program

First they came for phys ed. Then, they came for recess. Now, they are coming for the bats and balls.

According to a CBS News report, officials at a middle school on Long Island, NY, are banning the use of certain types of sports equipment that kids usually use for playground games. They are also banning certain types activities. The grinches behind this move to utterly ruin physical activity in our schools are administrators who say they are concerned about students ending up hurt during recess. So, that means there will be no footballs, soccer balls, games of tag, and cartwheels unless supervised by a coach. NERF-type balls, however, will be permitted. Sadly, it isn't likely that they will be used.

Even in an age when “helicopter parents” don’t let their kids past the end of the driveway and insurance costs make it hard to have a jungle gym on the playground, the move to make schools bat- and ball-free zones is just wrong. And the idea that attorneys should decide what goes on during recess is akin to asking accountants to decide what would be the best way to spend your money at an amusement park.

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The superintendent of the middle school cites an uptick in the number of injuries that kids are sustaining during recess as the main reason for the ban. She is concerned about her charges’ safety and well-being. That cannot be discounted. But since these injuries occur on school grounds, what is the likelihood that there is at least an equal concern about liability and lawsuits from parents whose kid takes one to the noggin?

Kids getting injured during recess is an issue not to be taken lightly. But do we really have to ban balls and tag for fears that courts are going to assess liability if a kid gets knocked over?

In the rush to put protective bubbles around our kids, there needs to be some perspective about what happens on the playground. First, it's important to keep in mind that fun, not liability, is the core value of recess. Second, recess is an opportunity for children to learn important life lessons—creating games, being picked for a team, working with others, and playing by rules. Third, recess is a time to let off steam, build a muscle or two, and not worry about tort liability.

When there is a tiny amount of risk in an environment, it makes no sense to suddenly take a drastically different course and ban everything that undermines safety. Safety is important, but it is not the only value in a child’s life. Fun, risk-taking, and fitness count for something, too.

Officials at other schools are said to be thinking about bans similar to the one at the middle school on Long Island. They shouldn’t. Living life expecting it to be completely risk-free is no way to live. Living life expecting it to be completely free of lawsuits is, at this point in the American Experiment, rather un-American.

Arthur L. Caplan, PhD, is the Drs. William F. and Virginia Connolly Mitty Professor and head of the Division of Bioethics at New York University Langone Medical Center. Lee H. Igel, PhD, is associate professor in the Tisch Center at New York University. Both are affiliated with NYU’s Sports and Society Program.