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Boy mom Melanie Tarver was startled last spring when one of her sons, then a first grader, asked her to urge his principal to let the class have additional time at recess. He wanted more time to run and play with his friends on the playground.
“Mom, we’ve got to get our wiggles out,” he told her.
“I laughed it off at first,” said Tarver, who said she’s not the kind of parent who marches into school administrative offices to make demands and dictate the school day. “But the question stuck with me, and I started looking into his schedule and researching recess policies.”
The boy, who has a three-year-old brother frequently tagging along behind him and is now happily enrolled in second grade at his elementary school in East Dallas, hasn’t mentioned the issue again. Tarver, though, is on a crusade. She’s linked up with a national movement called Say Yes to Recess, which promotes at least 60 minutes of unstructured play each day.
The American Academy of Pediatrics strongly recommends at least an hour of play daily, and says recess is essential for children’s emotional and social development. Through play, they say, children learn cooperation, negotiation, empathy and problem-solving — life skills which cannot be taught via worksheets.
TCU’s Liink Project (Let’s Inspire Innovation ‘N Kids) led by Dr. Debbie Rhea has found that increasing recess to one hour can reduce student anxiety by up to 70% and decrease classroom disruptions by 40%. The change can also improve test scores in math by 10% and reading by 70%.
Three moms in Tennessee officially launched the Say Yes nonprofit in 2025 after hearing from parents, grandparents, teachers and community members about the benefits of recess. Since then, the movement has expanded throughout Tennessee and across the country. Tarver founded the first chapter in Texas with her friend, Sarah Griess.
“We all remember having longer recess growing up,” said Tarver, “but starting in the ’90s, and even more after No Child Left Behind in 2001, recess time got squeezed out in favor of ‘seat time’ and test prep. Yet research tells us a six-year-old’s attention span is only 12–18 minutes, and adults only manage 20-30. My son’s first grade class spent well over three hours on math and reading blocks. He was lucky to have a great teacher who got them up and down for brain breaks — but so much of that is teacher-dependent and luck of the draw.”
“Recess and PE serve different but equally important purposes,” Tarver continued. “PE builds skills and fitness, while recess builds emotional intelligence and resilience. Both matter. We’re also seeing rising rates of anxiety and ADHD. Some of this is linked to developmentally inappropriate schedules. Kids are expected to sit longer than many adults can. Physical activity is proven to reduce anxiety and help the brain focus. As Jonathan Haidt explores in ‘The Anxious Generation,’ the loss of playtime has deep consequences, paralleling the rise in anxiety and screen use.”
Last year, legislators in Texas moved to require physical activity for 30 minutes daily. Senate Bill 25, officially enacted September 1 as the “Make Texas Healthy Again” law, also prohibits teachers and school administrators from restricting participation as a penalty for academic performance or behavior. The Say Yes to Recess movement is working to double that time, and they are encouraging school officials to include unstructured time in addition to physical education curriculum.
“We support daily, unstructured recess that is at least 60 minutes long and occurs outdoors when possible,” their website states. We support time that “is not taken away as punishment, encourages movement and choice, and supports social and emotional development.”
Tarver isn’t naïve. She understands that leaders in education face tough demands as they decide how much recess time to allocate.
“The challenge is that administrators are under pressure to raise test scores, which often leads to more classroom time, even though the data show the opposite works better,” Tarver said. “That’s why we’re advocating for state-level leadership and policies that make developmentally appropriate schedules the norm. This approach doesn’t add to teachers’ load — it can reduce it. With calmer classrooms and more focused students, everyone wins. Recess is the pressure valve of the school day, and restoring it could have lifelong benefits for kids’ learning and mental health.”
To sign the petition, go to SayYestoRecess.com. Follow the group on Facebook here and Instagram here.
