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Do kids play games anymore?

by Tony Basilio

Where have all the kids gone? Since my departure from the working world, I’ve had a lot of time on my hands—time to drive, think, and even watch. And one thing I’ve noticed is how empty our schoolyards and playgrounds are. When was the last time you passed a group of youngsters outside playing a game with each other?

It seems like children don’t play anymore. Maybe this is a product of a youth sports culture that exalts individual accomplishment over teamwork and competition, making sports little more than a vehicle for the elusive college scholarship. Youth sports have become a business of sorts, a winner-take-all proposition, and the kids who can’t step up simply drop out.

A recent study from USA Today Online is revealing: Only 49 percent of children grades four through 12 are moderately to vigorously active. More than 50 percent of children between six and 11 are obese. And that’s a number that’s sure to grow, if you’ll pardon the pun.

These numbers are shocking enough. But to me, the most shocking revelation of the study is that only 22 percent of children are physically active every day of the week. Think about that for a second. Only one child in five enjoys daily physical activity.

Any pediatrician will tell you that unfit children develop low opinions of themselves and manifest antisocial attitudes. It’s not just important that kids have an opportunity to play, it’s imperative. But playing is awfully difficult when mom and dad aren’t around, and the uniform is hanging in the closet.

Absentee parents aren’t the only culprits; there are any number of other reasons for the decline in physical activity. In Knox County, for instance, not only is recess for middle-school-aged kids not mandatory, it is frowned upon. Remember all the problem solving that was culled from learning how to make up games extemporaneously on the playground or the schoolyard? It seems like kids today don’t play unless they are being judged, refereed or exalted by grown-ups. Without recess, without play, part of the educational experience is missing.

Today’s young people have other distractions unknown to previous generations, to be sure. More television choices, the Internet and video games all seem to be more attractive alternatives to playing outside from dawn ‘til dusk. But it would be overly simplistic to blame the lack of physical play solely on these distractions. It would be closer to the point to say that we have bought into the Big Lie as a culture.

The Big Lie is that what happens on the playing field of our youth somehow defines our children (and thus us) as worthy or successful. But think about it. How many goals, field goals, losses or wins can you remember from your youth? Just because your kids have talent in a sport doesn’t mean you have to put blinders on them. In my youth, it was enough that my parents simply came to our Little League games and took us out for ice cream later. Now it doesn’t count unless your folks have your name and number written on the back of the SUV.

Maybe the story of Major League Baseball relief pitcher Eric Gagne should serve as a reminder to the sports-obsessed parents who believe the lie that they are nurturing young professional athletes. Gagne, who grew up in Canada, recently set a record for consecutive games saved that may prove unbreakable. Gagne didn’t take up baseball until age 17; four years later, he was in professional baseball. The best part of the story: In Canada, Gagne said it was so cold that he only played ball three months out of the year. He didn’t have the experience of training almost year-round from age six to 16, yet Gagne still made it to the majors. An object lesson, perhaps; if it’s going to happen, it will.

The great irony of youth sports is that while the level of sedentary children seems to be at an all-time high, those who do participate at the highest level of youth sports are more active than ever. There no longer seems to be any middle ground for kids in sports. At least not where I’m driving and looking these days.

July 22, 2004 • Vol. 14, No. 30 © 2004 Metro Pulse