About one-third of kindergartners don't get recess, and pediatricians say it could hurt development

Children spend less and less time outdoors and in "free play" time, and it has damaging effects on cognitive development.

About 30 percent of kindergarten classrooms in the U.S. no longer send kids out to recess, a Monday report from the American Academy of Pediatrics found, and the increasing focus on academics and structured enrichment activities is tied to anxiety and lower creativity later in life.

As Stat News reports, free play helps children learn, relieve stress, and develop new skills. Only about half of preschool-aged kids get daily playtime outside with a parent, even though unstructured play is key to cognitive and social development. Between 1981 and 1997, young children lost 12 hours per week of free time, the report explains, citing increased homework loads and media distractions. "Play is not frivolous," the AAP report explains. "It enhances brain structure and function and promotes executive function ... which allow us to pursue goals and ignore distractions."

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The report recommended that doctors talk with families about finding time to allow children to be creative and maintain agency over their activities. Researchers acknowledged "parental guilt" that "has led to competition over who can schedule more 'enrichment opportunities' for their children," and that not all children live in safe areas for outdoor play, but emphasized the importance of finding ways to help kids develop the same skills. "Play and learning are inextricably linked," the AAP reports.