FE ATUR E
The Epidemic of
Play Deprivation By Heidi Borst Physical activity has far-reaching benefits to our kids’ physical and mental health, from decreasing their risk of anxiety and depression to lowering their odds of developing type 2 diabetes, cancer, heart disease, obesity and other ailments. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), children ages 6–17 need at least
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an hour of moderate to vigorous exercise each day. The problem? Today’s kids aren’t even coming close to meeting this minimum requirement. (In 2017, fewer than one-quarter of kids were getting the CDC’s recommended amount of physical activity.) A lack of physical activity was a major
Why our kids need the freedom to play — now more than ever
problem even before the pandemic, and play deprivation has increased dramatically during the past year. What’s more, experts say we’re going about play all wrong: Kids’ play today is too regimented, too structured, too routine. What our kids really need is the opportunity to take risks in play — it’s how they grow. While the problem of
