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BumRushDaShow

(171,892 posts) Tue May 12, 2026, 05:25 AM 3 hrs ago

Pediatrics group issues new guidance on recess for the first time in 13 years

Source: CNN Health/AP

PUBLISHED May 11, 2026, 5:25 PM ET

Recess isn’t just a fun break for grade schoolers. It’s crucial to good health and good grades for kids of all ages.

That’s the message from a leading pediatricians group, which just released the first new guidance in 13 years about this unstructured time at school and how it needs to be protected.The updated policy statement by the American Academy of Pediatrics comes after years of shrinking recesses and worsening children’s health.

The group “has always supported play – free play for kids – but it’s been increasingly threatened over time,” partly by the drive for higher test scores, said Dr. Robert Murray, a lead author. “It has a very powerful benefit if it’s used to the fullest.”

The new guidance, published Monday in the journal Pediatrics, is similar to the previous policy statement but cites the latest research on why these breaks are essential for kids’ academic success and mental, physical, social and emotional growth.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2026/05/11/health/recess-pediatrician-recommendation-wellness

Link to American Academy of Pediatrics PUBLICATION - The Crucial Role of Recess in School: Policy Statement

3 replies

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Pediatrics group issues new guidance on recess for the first time in 13 years (Original Post) BumRushDaShow 3 hrs ago OP

It's more than a break from academics. no_hypocrisy 2 hrs ago #1

Yes. mwmisses4289 1 hr ago #2

this is nuts rampartd 22 min ago #3

no_hypocrisy

(55,300 posts)

1. It's more than a break from academics.

Reply to BumRushDaShow (Original post)

Tue May 12, 2026, 06:12 AM

2 hrs ago

It's play and socialization among children. As a teacher, I go out of my way to watch how students interact with each other as it often explains what's going on in my classroom.

mwmisses4289

(4,642 posts)

2. Yes.

Reply to BumRushDaShow (Original post)

Tue May 12, 2026, 07:26 AM

1 hr ago

Back in the dark ages of the 1960s and 1970s when I was in elementary school, we got three recess breaks: 2 15 minute ones (a.m. and p.m.) and a 30 minute one after lunch. By the time I was in high school, the afternoon one had been eliminated. Thanks to the Testing Industrial Complex, for a brief while many schools eliminated recess altogether, claiming P.E. classes were adequate substitutes (they weren't, but they do have their own benefits). Now schools are bringing back recess, which they should have never gotten rid of in the first place.

rampartd

(4,961 posts)

3. this is nuts

Reply to BumRushDaShow (Original post)

Tue May 12, 2026, 08:24 AM

22 min ago

of course the kids need recess

It’s crucial to good health and good grades for kids of all ages.

and they need p e and music classes as well.

didn't these people go to school?

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