Danger! Kids Playing Tag

By Elisabeth Salemme

Game over for students in Attleboro, Mass., who yelled "You're it!" one final time at Willett Elementary School last week. The school has forbidden tag--as well as touch football and all other "chase" games--during recess, a move that made national headlines. As in schools from South Carolina to Wyoming that have implemented similar bans recently, Attleboro administrators cite fears that children could get hurt and their parents might sue. According to some parents, another factor was concern that such games could hurt self-esteem if, say, one kid were always "it."

The Attleboro ban drew instant criticism--and not just from playground libertarians and young players. "It's not the right route to take," says Charlene Burgenson, executive director of the National Association for Sport and Physical Education, who believes tag is "exactly the type of activity that is appropriate at recess." It won't harm kids "physically or psychologically," she says, and argues that the exercise could even help, given the rising rates of obesity among young people.

Tag players shouldn't lose all hope, since grownups often change their minds. In the Spokane, Wash., school district, which banned tag at recess last school year, the game is still being played--as part of the P.E. curriculum.