Banning Tag and Other Rough Games at School
February 18, 2007 by Lei
Filed under News and Links about Children's Things
Last Thursday, I spent a little time at my son’s school reading The Three Little Pigs to them in Chinese as part of Book Week. It was a great opportunity for me to observe their daily routine and the way the children interacted with one another.
My son has a small group of friends who I think are all very nice but there are a few other kids who stood out as being rather less well-behaved. When it came time to go out on the playground, there was a lot of running around and some pushing and shoving as well. Nothing that alarmed me but I could see how some of the bigger boys could get rather rough.
So it was not too surprising for me to read about a school in Lincolnshire, UK that has forbidden children to play tag in the school playground because they were playing too rough. The teachers are making an effort to show them alternative ways of playing but one girl has already complained:
The good thing is that lots of people can’t get hurt but the bad thing is it’s pretty boring at playtime and you can’t have as much fun as you used to be able to.
Schools in the US have been banning tag as well. In 2002, Franklin Elementary School in Santa Monica, California found that some children were not playing “it” appropriately and last year, elementary schools in Wyoming, Washington, and South Carolina also banned tag.
It might sound silly and yet I can understand the concern. Whereas the majority of children wouldn’t hurt each other, there are always a few who get out of hand and somehow incite a mob mentality that snowballs. I would hate for children to feel pressured into playing tag if they don’t want to and I’ve even observed some heckling of bystanders from those children who want to force others to play their game. Physically smaller children like my son would get trampled in these instances and I’ve already told him that if he doesn’t feel comfortable playing a game, he should say so and find some other activity to do. Thankfully, he seems able to assert himself appropriately and his teachers are wonderfully attentive. But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t worry.
What’s been your children’s experience with tag and other “contact” games on the school playground?
Update: Steve at Inside Fatherhood has more on another elementary school in Massachusetts that has also banned tag.
Photo: psd
Tags: playground, tag, it, children, kids, games, schools, parenting, family
I’d really love it if they outlawed Dodgeball. A game whose sole purpose is to pelt other kids with balls that sting! Hate it, but probably b/c I was really bad at it.
I don’t know about outlawing tag,though. There are always gonna be kids who bully and hurt, with or without games to be played.
Dodgeball was nothing, compared to Red Rover LOL! We really did play some pretty rough games when I was little.
The kids at our elementary school played Freeze Tag. It didn’t seem to get as rough.