Last week, a small elementary school in the town of Attleboro, Mass. decided to ban kids from playing unsupervised chase games such as tag and touch football. The decision was made due to fears of the district being sued should a child get hurt during one of these recess games. Another victim of this ridiculous ban was dodgeball, which Attleboro school administrators described as "exclusionary and dangerous" in an interview with the Associated Press.
Bans like this are ludicrous and indicators of a society gone awry. Kids need to be kids. Typically, that involves running around, screaming and pursuing activities that may result in the occasional scratch, scrape or broken limb. These elements are part of a regular childhood and have been for quite some time. It is taking a step way too far when micromanaged children are no longer allowed to do what they have been doing naturally for hundreds if not thousands of years.
Child safety should always be an issue on the mind of anyone entrusted with the care of a child. For the most part, any great risk of injury has been removed from school settings. Decades ago it was not uncommon to see playscapes made of materials that pose a real danger such as splintering wood or sharp metal. For the most part, these elements have been replaced with more child friendly materials like plastic. The ban in question here does not even involve any equipment. Should any activity with potential for injury be banned? What about four square and basketball? Perhaps all a child's natural inclination towards curiosity and exploration of the world should be squelched for fear that injury may occur.
Getting bumped and bruised, like many other things, is part of growing up. It helps children learn to start to deal with the realities in life and teaches them to get up and keep on going. There are many obstacles to be overcome in life and brushing off a little dirt and putting on a band-aid is only a first step. The same goes for the so-called exclusionary aspect of dodgeball. Children need to learn how to be competitive and fend for themselves. If adults choose to protect children from every possible cause of a cut or scrape, then they certainly cannot be expected to fend for themselves in the real world at a later age.
In the most obese country in the world, it seems inconceivable that kids would be banned from burning calories and staying fit. They cannot be protected 100 percent of the time and sometimes bad things happen. It is sad to see that culture in the U.S. has become so litigious that schools fear letting children pursue activities like they always have. If educational systems with small budgets cannot afford to defend a lawsuit, then they should keep the kids inside all day or have the parents sign waivers and let the kids run free.
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