These Days: Play

Tom Fudge
KPBS Radio - San Diego
October 2001 - Part 1

Tom Fudge, the host of the public affairs program These Days, has more than 10 years of diverse journalism experience in both commercial and public broadcasting. Since joining KPBS, Tom has covered San Diego issues related to growth, transportation and development for KPBS News.

Tom: I’m Tom Fudge and we’re talking about play, these days in San Diego...

When most people of middle age and up, recall their memories of the schoolyard, they may think about getting into a kickball game or a game of basketball. Talking with friends or dealing with bullies. Think of a playground and they might remember the jungle gym. And then there was the vacant lot where they would play atop a huge dirt pile. To a large extent these are memories of unstructured play.

That kind of thing still exists today but is giving way to new trends. Playgrounds are carefully vetted for dangerous equipment. Kids today spend more time in front of video screens or they are scheduled up to their necks with organized activities. And recess? Some school districts are actually considering getting rid of it to focus more on academics. It’s a new world of play for today’s kids, but is it a better one?

During this hour we are going to talk about where and how kids play, and whether they have enough opportunity to do it. And how does playground design influence play? Our guest in studio is Melinda Bossenmeyer. Ms. Bossenmeyer is a former teacher who is now playground design consultant and owner of a company called Peaceful Playgrounds.

Tom: Melinda Bossenmeyer, thanks for coming in.

Melinda: Good to be here.

Tom: Why is play important to children? Let’s start out with that very big and general question.

Melinda: Play is important to children’s development for a number of reasons. The first is stress reduction. Today’s children are under a great deal of stress especially when you think about the increase in academics and children hitting academic standards. Play has always been important to children in terms of their social skill development. It is in play that they learn to solve problems, they learn skills of conflict resolution, and also they learn leadership skills when they are organizing games. Also in play they learn motor skill development and that is very important as well.

Tom: I read that school districts in Atlanta and Chicago are building schools without playgrounds, and are even considering eliminating recess. Is that a fact and is this a widespread trend?

Melinda: Yes that is a fact. Atlanta is one of the largest school districts in the nation to have eliminated recess in almost all of their schools. The reason they have sited is the increase in academic standards for children. There is concern over injuries and concern over liability that can be associated with the injuries. There is also concern of the shortage of playground supervisors and the extra costs. In terms of is it a trend? We are seeing it as a trend across the nation. It is a growing trend and one that is of great concern.

Tom: That was my next question for you? Whether it is a trend that you approve of or disapprove of?

Melinda: It is a trend that I think is not a wise one; and certainly not in the best interest of children. Nor is it in the best interest of the nation. In terms of children’s growth and development, we know that developing the body is also important just like in developing the mind. And so it is a trend that is a concern for a variety of reasons. In terms of health and fitness, we know children need to be active. There was a research study in 98’ that said that a 20 minute recess block was the largest outdoor playtime that many children experience in America. So if in fact we take that away, we are taking away one of the many play opportunities.

Tom: And that is testament to the fact that what? Kids at home are not allowed to go outside and run around in the streets anymore like they used to?

Melinda: What we see in a lot of places is that children come home from school, perhaps their parents are at work, they are told to go into the house, because of concerns of course, over their safety. They are told to go in and sit down, and start their homework. Through the fall and the winter of a year in most cases, once their homework is done, it is dark outside and therefore they don’t have any other opportunity to play.

Tom: When I think about the difference between recess and physical education, I guess to me it is largely the difference between structured and unstructured play. That was my experience when I was in school anyway. Is that still the case? Is that a good way to look at it?

Melinda: It’s a good way to look at it. Basically physical education has a curriculum just like any of your other subject areas. They have grade level expectations that children should acquire. Whereas recess is unstructured, it is more of a time that they can practice these skills that they have learned in physical education and they are developing social skills as well.

Tom: I want to…before we get into talking the about the schoolyards and playgrounds that you designed. I want to talk about this business of unstructured play. You are saying that this is, maybe you can give us an example of how unstructured play can lead to a child learning something about social skills or something about creativity.

Melinda: In a typical playground, there are a lot of competitive games. We have added to the playground designs that enhance their academic skills like alphabet grids and number grids. Also we have added cooperative games in which the objective of the game is to work with your partner and throw and catch in such a way that you both stay in by not missing. The unstructured games are an opportunity that a child has choice. In physical education and in most classrooms, choice is not readily available to a child. But certainly in recess they have a choice of games and a choice of partners that they are playing with. And so choice comes in and that is very important.

Tom: In terms of learning social skills during recess, is it the business of trying to get yourself into the kickball game? Trying to cooperate with another group of people in an organized game? Is that what we are talking about?

Melinda: With social skills, we teach in our program that a child has 3 options. If they are having a difficulty, they can talk to the person they are having the difficulty with and use some conflict resolution skills. Identifying the problem, coming to an agreement with how they are going to solve the problem. They also have the opportunity to walk. Walk means that you are going to walk away from a particular game where you are having a problem with a child and select another game. I think this is a real appropriate option. Sometimes as adults, in the lounge, if politically we have different views as another adult, we may choose to sit at another table rather than getting into an argument and a confrontation. So that is teaching the child that they have some power over the situation and they have options that they can utilize.

Tom: The name of your business is Peaceful Playgrounds. Why did you choose that name? And how does that express what you do?

Melinda: Peaceful Playgrounds is the objective of the program. We want the playground to be a peaceful place for children and also an experience that the adults enjoy. Sometimes on playgrounds there was a lot of tattling, and so therefore for the adult supervisor on the playground, it was somewhat of a trying experience as well. So peaceful indicates that we want it to be a social environment that is enjoyed by all.

Tom: Do you do that through design of the playground? Because that sounds like the sort of things that are accomplished through adult supervision.

Melinda: Peaceful Playgrounds is basically 5 concepts. They have to do with teaching children ways to solve problems on the playgrounds. Another concept is that they have enough equipment available and proper equipment. That deals with the play structures and that those structures are safe so if children fall, that they hit the proper surfacing. We teach them safe play on the playgrounds. Another concept is expectations. That everyone in the school will work with the children to teach them the skills that they need to play peacefully on the playground. And also that we reward those behaviors. And then design. Design is what, perhaps, I am best known for. What I learned in working on the playground for over 20 years is that children just simply didn’t have enough to do on the playground. That by adding a variety of games and activities there would be much more for them to do and create a peaceful environment.

Tom: I had to smile a little to myself when you talked about kids tattling on each other. Isn’t that just kids being kids?

Melinda: We try to distinguish between tattling and telling. Telling is a situation in which their personal safety is at stake. Telling is appropriate. Tattling is one that we try to give them the skills to deal with on their own, so that it doesn’t require an adult to intervene. Primarily because we want the adults on the playground to be supervising all kids on the playground, rather than their focus be with two children and perhaps other children could be playing in a way that is not safe. So in order to secure that children are safe and that supervisors are doing their job properly, we want to teach children to handle these situations involving tattling.

Tom: I’d like to get back to something we were talking about before, which you said was a problem with stress. Another issue is obesity, which we know is a problem with children today. Is there a direct link in your mind as to fewer opportunities for outdoor play, and those kinds of behaviors and those kinds of health problems?

Melinda: Yes, I think the lack of activity... There is a national trend in which we are seeing children are more obese. I think this is directly linked to the lack of physical activity. It is a real simple formula: calories in, calories burned. Calories burned are in physical activity. So if we know that the largest block of time children have to be active is this 20 minute recess period, than we know that that period is very important. Hopefully they are getting a morning and afternoon recess as well.

Tom: What about attention deficit disorder? Is there any link between ADD and fewer opportunities to play and to work out?

Melinda: What we know for all children... there was a study in 98’ by Garrett. She sided that especially ADD children needed extra opportunities to burn off energy. I think as just the average parent we realize that. For all children she found that children could focus better for a longer period of time after a recess break.

Tom: When looking at the design of playgrounds, what is wrong with the conventional playground? There is not enough to do? There are just not enough options?

Melinda: People all have a different definition of playgrounds. When I think of playgrounds, it includes the play structure area like the jungle gym, the overhead bar, and the swings. But the playground has so much more to offer and the other part of the playground is typically what goes undeveloped. That is the blacktop and grassy areas of the playgrounds. I deal with that and we paint games onto the black top, so children have more to do. And also develop the grassy areas. You can put a 220 track just by burning it onto the grass. It is a chemical burn there on the grass. And just there right away children have the opportunity to be more active.

Tom: Let’s talk about the phenomenon of fewer playgrounds, not just in other parts of the country, but here in California as well. You were saying it had to do with some new guidelines and laws here in the state of California.

Melinda: It does. In January of 2000, AB1650 was legislation that said, here in our health and safety code in CA, saying that the playgrounds across the state must be brought up to CPSC (consumer product safety) standards. Those standards said that basically the surfacing under the equipment needs to be maintained. The guideline suggests a minimum of 12 inches deep. I get asked the question often ‘Is sand ok?’ And yes sand is an appropriate surfacing under equipment and so is woodchips. Anything that will allow a child’s fall to be cushioned. It is extremely important because it is from the falls that we experience the most serious injuries on the playground. It also requires that the playground structures themselves be retro-fitted or removed. So in most cases the schools across the state are removing the old structures and are putting in the new structures that are all contained, that all meet the guidelines.

Tom: Is this causing a financial hardship for a lot of schools? That is a big question that occurs to me?

Melinda: It is, yes. In many places across the state, what happened because of the concern over liability, afraid that their schools would get sued. They immediately began to remove all of that equipment. There are still a number of schools that have not removed / replaced the structures, and that is due to financial hardship in responding to the new regulation.

Tom: Caller Jan from Pacific Beach.

Jan: First of all I am the parent of a child who has multiple disabilities. He has autism, turret’s, and epilepsy. I have noticed from age 16 on up, that these children become extremely heavy. It seems like the school district cuts back more and more on the physical activity. It seems like the kids with behavior issues especially, really need an outlet. It kind of puts them in a bad spot when they don’t have an outlet; they get aggressive in the classroom. I am wondering as a parent, what could I do to help get my son more education at school?

Melinda: An autistic child will typically have an individual education program. With the individual education program, often times, they will have the rights to an adaptive physical education teacher. So that might be one place to start. At the school site team meeting on his IEP, to make this request that you think is appropriate for his needs.

Jan: What if they say that they are limited with adapted PE teachers. A lot of these kids only get PE once or twice a week.

Melinda: The purpose of adapted PE is to teach them some skills so that hopefully when they interact in the public environment that they will have acquired the skills to do so. Some things you can do is, from your adaptive physical education teacher, is to ask your for recommendations of activities that your child might be successful in. For example, bowling. It is something that you can follow up with on your own, so that your child is more physically active.

Tom: Now adaptive PE is special physical education so to speak?

Melinda: It is. It is special physical education. The intent is that children might need a little extra help in developing the physical skills. Or also they may need some skills in interacting on the playground and so that service is there for children.

Tom: Thank you very much Jan. I am glad that Jan brought up the issue of disabilities. Because when you think about disabilities, she mentioned some that her son apparently has. There are also children who are in wheelchairs and so forth. I am wondering whether these disabilities and the Americans with disabilities Acts has also placed new requirements on playgrounds, whether they be in school yards or anywhere else.

Melinda: Yes it certainly has and rightly so. Primarily those restrictions have to do with accessibility to the play structures. So that a child in a wheelchair could have the opportunity to get to the play structure so they could interact.

Tom: I recall you said that one surface that you could use to provide a cushion for kids if they fall is sand, but obviously the sand creates a problem for a person in a wheel chair. They can’t get to a lot of places on the playground.

Melinda: Exactly. So if you see a structure being installed in a sandbox you may also see a cushioned road to the play structure, sort of a ramp they call it to the area. But typically in meeting ADA requirements you would put something more like your matted surfacing which is more of a hard surfacing; which would be really easy to maneuver on with the wheelchair. Even woodchips are designed that they can handle wheelchair movement as well.

Tom: We have Joyce on the line from La Jolla. Joyce welcome to the show.

Joyce: Hi, I wanted to bring up another safety point. Several years ago when my child was not yet 3, we were playing on one of those big tubular self contained units that looked safe, at the McDonalds. And my daughter had a change of face. I crawled inside one of the tubes, to see a little boy about 9 years old with her pants down and had his hands on her. I think that is another safety factor that the designers, and parents and schools are going to have to figure out. You have to actually, before you let your child play on these units, you have to check them out not only for things that people may have left behind but for kids or adults hiding inside of them.

Melinda: You make an important point. Play structures are designed for children 3-5, then 6-12. So if you go to the average public park you will see a structure there for older children. It is real important that parents realize that these structures are designed for the older child, and the younger child may not be able to play safely there. Another important point that you bring up is that adult supervision is really critical, whether it be the school professional or the parent. These activities are not designed to do without adult supervision. So thank you that was a great point.

Tom: We soon expect to be joined by a physical education teacher who is going to be joining us in a few minutes. Melinda Bossenmeyer continues to speak with us about this thing we call unstructured play, which is something that happens at recess and on playgrounds. Schools, of course, these days have been very concerned about bullying. I am wondering, to what extent can you control that and still allow children to play in an unstructured way so that they are using their social skills and creativity? How do you deal with bullying?

Melinda: Well bullying again goes back to the situation, is teaching children that if they are a victim of bullying that that is an appropriate telling situation. That is not tattling. If you are being bullied to please tell. To define bullying, bullying means that a child is being intimidated, and that there is some physical or emotional stress that they are experiencing as a result of that. Also the intent of the bully is to intimidate, to instill fear. So if that situation occurs, it should definitely be reported. The way that we deal with that, bullies and victims make up 15% of the elementary school program. It is the other 85% of the children that can turn the situation around and make the difference. So we talked to all children that bullying is not appropriate. There are things that they can do. If they see another child being bullied it is appropriate to intervene. To step in and say leave him alone. Or to comfort the child and say let’s go play a different game. Anything along those lines is appropriate.

Continue to Part 2 >>