I’ve been at my daughter’s school nurse clinic every day for the past 2-1/2 weeks during lunch and lunch time recess for reasons that I will share later – I’m just not ready… (updated: My daughter was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes.)
Anyway, every single day about a half dozen kids come into the nurse clinic during recess with twisted ankles, scrapped knees, muddy clothes, and all kinds of bumps and bruises.
One little girl had mud on her pants and shirt so bad that she had to call home for a change of clothes last week!
Our nurse is great about attending to the kids with plenty of band-aids and ice packs. Usually the kids go right back outside, all smiles.
I heard a mom say, “we should cancel school recess” since everyone is coming in hurt and ruining their clothes. Really?!
I talk often about why outside play is important for kids – for physical development, exercise, dexterity, cognitive and emotional strength, creativity, and imagination.
Outside recess at school is just as important as playing outside at home, maybe even more so! In fact, pediatricians even claim that recess is as important as math and reading! Kids need that downtown during the day, just like we need to step away from our computers throughout the day or take a break from one task to go to another, it keeps us sharp.
So, what do we do about bumps and bruises at recess? I say:
There are recess monitors with our kids. They ensure our kids are safe by enforcing safety rules, setting up guidelines, helping with conflict-resolution, and encouraging our kids in fair play. (If you have issues with monitors or lack-thereof, talk with your school administrators.) The key is to let our kids play! They need recess!
As for the grass stained knees and muddy clothes from recess – or ketchup spills at lunch! – I say:
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I’ve always been the mom that wants my kids to play hard and not worry about getting their clothes stained. Of course I’ve also taught them to take care of their clothes and be responsible, wearing ‘play clothes’ outside as much as possible. At school, this is a more difficult task, that is why I use all® Free Clear OXI for every load of laundry.
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all® OXI keeps my kids’ clothing clean and free of stains – even hard-to-get-out grass stains. By using a quality product that I can trust, I don’t have to stress my kids out about whether they can play (and be kids) at recess or anywhere. The fear of stains should never be on our kids’ minds – or ours!
I say let our kids have fun at recess and let all® Free Clear OXI products take care of the mess later.
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