Toddlers need to get off the soccer field and onto the playground. Children need to get out of the gym and into neighborhood stickball games. We need to give kids room to create their own rules, set their own terms,… — Darell Hammond Copy Share Image
Play is under attack in our nation's schools - and shrinking recess periods are only part of the problem. Homework is increasing. Cities are building new schools without playgrounds. Safety concerns are prompting bans of tag, soccer, and even running… — Darell Hammond Copy Share Image
Increased physical activity during the school day can help children's attention, classroom behavior, and achievement test scores. Meanwhile, the decline of play is closely… — Darell Hammond Copy Share Image
As parents, we need to send our kids back to 'old-fashioned' outdoor summer camps, which have been on the decline as the demand for… — Darell Hammond Copy Share Image
Just as playgrounds didn't even make the priority list of most of those responding to Katrina, they all too often slip off the radar… — Darell Hammond Copy Share Image
Growing up in a group home, and with an undiagnosed learning disability to boot, the odds of success were not on my side. But… — Darell Hammond Copy Share Image
Our country's growing obsession with organized sports isn't just hurting our children, but also our communities. As play is siphoned off to gyms and… — Darell Hammond Copy Share Image
If there's one thing that 'No Child Left Behind' has proven, it's that more academics don't make for smarter children - or even higher… — Darell Hammond Copy Share Image
Only one in five children in the U.S. lives within walking distance of a park. Many more lack access to a quality early childhood… — Darell Hammond Copy Share Image
Public swimming pools, recreation centers, summer reading programs, youth jobs programs - they are all shutting their doors. And they are all facilities and… — Darell Hammond Copy Share Image
This summer, we need to let our kids go play and we need to stop worrying about whether or not it's going to ruin… — Darell Hammond Copy Share Image
Play is the best natural resource in a creative economy. Kids need more of it. It is the work of childhood. We hope to… — Darell Hammond Copy Share Image
As I see it, the debate between summer vacation vs. year-round school glosses over the most important questions. Namely, how can we bring play… — Darell Hammond Copy Share Image
Kids who don't play are not just at greater risk of falling behind academically, but also of becoming overweight or obese, failing to integrate… — Darell Hammond Copy Share Image
