Tag Getting a Time Out at School: Part II

This article is part of a two-day series. Read Part I here. 

Since school-aged kids have limited time on the computer at school and don’t watch TV or play video games there, recess is their main opportunity to play vigorously with peers. 

“Tag offers children the opportunity to release stress, move in vigorous ways and increase their level of physical fitness," Professor of Education at Manhattanville Rhonda Clements said. "It is the oldest game on the planet, dating back to early man when the object was to pass on the evil It spirit. This childhood game allows children the opportunity to dart, dash, scatter, and evade opponents, which are necessary skills in many adult sports. Since the rules are simple, it also allows for less skilled children to freely participate." 

In fact, Clements has said that adults who exert too much control over a child's play are robbing the child of valuable opportunities to work through play episodes with friends and learn how to negotiate rules. I also think rough-and-tumble games give kids a sense of their dexterity, strength and bravery without the comforting crutch of obvious adult supervision. 

In an interesting coincidence, a reader of one of my earlier columns  life in the 1950s in South Pasadena and the rough games kids played. 

Educationworld.com posted a study that shows exercise boosts students’ grades by building new brain cells in the part of the brain that helps with memory and learning. The scientist divided 214 sixth graders into three groups that got different amounts of exercise. The group that exercised the most did the best on tests. The more active the exercise, the better, said the scientists. Playing tag is on this study’s list as one of the best forms of exercise in addition to basketball, soccer, swimming, biking, skateboarding and jumping on a trampoline. 

Below is an excerpt of statistics released by Educationworld.com:

• Fewer than one in four students get at least 30 minutes of daily exercise.
• School-aged kids and teens spend an average of 4.8 hours per day on the computer, watching TV or playing video games.

If parents are willing to sign a waiver releasing the school from lawsuit, will the school reconsider the ban? Not only has tag been a basic childhood activity for thousands of years, but it also forms the basis of many sports and helps combat obesity and sedentary lifestyle trends. It could also promote memory and learning, provide opportunities to negotiate and resolve disputes and contribute to overall health, development and well-being. I think permitting kids to play active games such as tag is an important component in encouraging life-long healthy habits.

So what do you think? Should we permit our kids to play tag and pass the evil “It” spirit among themselves getting some good exercise in the process? Or should we capitulate to the humdrum but prudent exigencies of the modern age and ban the game from school grounds? After all, if they like the game so much, they can play it at home where parents deal with bumps and bruises rather than the overworked teachers and school administrators.