Our kids need more recess — and Tennessee just got It right

Tennessee lawmakers recently passed a law to provide more recess time for K-5 students. (Photo: Getty Images)

As a former Metro Nashville Public School teacher, I know firsthand what it is like when children do not get enough time to play.

I still remember my days as a middle school teacher, watching students’ attention spans (and attitudes) deteriorate after hours of sitting in class. The attitudes and attention spans would drastically improve after they came back in from playing. It seemed like a reset button had been pressed. 

That’s why Tennessee’s new bipartisan recess law, which requires 40 minutes of daily unstructured play for K-5 students, is such a victory for our children.

This unstructured time, which the law prioritizes to be taken outside, will truly be beneficial to our Tennessee students. This is a change from the current law, which states that elementary schools must have 130 minutes of recess a week. After revising the original bill from 60 minutes a day to 40 minutes a day, the law was approved by every legislator except one. 

As someone who studies the cognitive development of young children, I am extremely happy about this bill. The benefits range far beyond just offering more time for students to run around; it will also give them the time they need to develop self-regulation, a crucial life skill that will pay dividends far beyond elementary school.

Self-regulation is the ability to manage one’s thoughts, feelings, and actions. It’s what helps a child stick with a tough math problem instead of giving up. It’s what allows them to calm down when a friend hurts their feelings.

Research shows that children with strong self-regulation skills do better academically and have better mental health. While children begin developing this skill prior to kindergarten, the elementary school years are crucial. In fact, a child’s self-regulation in elementary school has been linked to reduced unemployment, mental health concerns, and criminal behavior 30 years later. 

This brings me back to the playground, the kingdom of movement and play. On any given day, it’s where you will see self-regulation in action. When playing freeze tag, a child must stop and no longer run until they are unfrozen. That ability to freeze and follow the rules teaches them impulse control. When playing four-square with others, they learn cooperation and conflict resolution. Self-regulation in children shows up as not having a tantrum after being eliminated and cheering on their friends from the sidelines instead. This shift is connected directly to play and is why recess is such an important component of early childhood education. 

Tennessee’s extended recess is thanks to dedicated parents in Clarksville who first pushed their local school district to expand recess and then decided to head to the state to make a change to benefit all students. 

As parents, they saw firsthand the need for play in their children. They formed the “Say YES to RECESS Tennessee” group to help advocate for more recess across the state. With the passage of the bill, they are already hearing some struggles with schools that have to make changes to a packed daily schedule. Rachel Bush, with the group, says, “We’re not talking about cutting math and reading in half, but really just looking at shaving a little bit here and there to increase recess to then help every other subject in the classroom.”

The group succeeded where teachers have struggled since No Child Left Behind — the law intended to improve education, particularly for students from disadvantaged backgrounds — slashed recess time in 2002. For two decades, we’ve prioritized test scores over play, and our children have paid the price. 

Teachers are speaking out on the behavioral issues that are happening in schools across the country. Many of these issues stem from poor self-regulation — kids who never learned to manage their impulses through play. There’s a chance that this recess bill could shift the state’s focus back to teaching the whole child. As children play more this upcoming school year, I hope legislators are looking for more ways to include play within the school day.

How can parents and community members continue to support extended recess and integration of play-based learning? Contact your school board members to ask for more play in school. Support teachers who incorporate play into lessons. And most importantly, celebrate when your child comes home tired and happy from a full day of learning and playing. It’s good for their health — and yours.