How to Be an Active Advocate for Play
by Darell Hammond View Bio
Darell Hammond is founder and CEO of KaBOOM!, the national non-profit that works to ensure that ALL kids, particularly the 16 million American kids growing up in poverty, get the active play they need to become healthy and successful adults. In its 18-year history of giving kids the childhood they deserve, KaBOOM! has built over 2,400 playgrounds in partnership with low-income communities across America and catalyzed over 13,000 additional playgrounds, providing 6.6 million kids a great place to play, enlisting over 1 million volunteers to promote and protect play, and mobilizing city leaders to create child-friendly, play-filled communities. An Ashoka Fellow, Hammond is the author of The New York Times Bestseller “KaBOOM!: A Movement to Save Play,” was the recipient of the Schwab Foundation Social Entrepreneur of the Year award, and was named to the Forbes Magazine list of the world’s Top 30 Social Entrepreneurs.
- More than 96 percent of pediatricians say that active play helps build kids’ social skills and confidence. Eight in 10 school principals report that recess has a positive impact on kids’ academic achievement. And kids living within one kilometer of a park or playground are five times more likely to be a healthy weight than kids farther away.
- The easiest way to be an advocate for play is to foster a culture of play in your living room, kitchen, or backyard. And you don’t need a lot of money or time to do it.
Despite the overwhelming amount of research that points to the importance of play, schools and cities continue to overlook its value, writing it off as an unnecessary luxury. Hear from Darrell Hammond, founder and CEO of KaBOOM!, about what you can do to step in and speak out as an advocate for play!
The Importance of Play
I don’t have to tell you how important play is. As parents and caregivers, you know better than anyone what a difference a simple hour of play can make in your kids’ behavior.
And experts know it too.
More than 96 percent of pediatricians say that active play helps build kids’ social skills and confidence. Eight in 10 school principals report that recess has a positive impact on kids’ academic achievement. And kids living within one kilometer of a park or playground are five times more likely to be a healthy weight than kids farther away.
But despite the overwhelming amount of science to champion the importance of play, schools and cities continue to overlook its value, writing it off as an unnecessary luxury. Almost half of the average child’s playtime comes from recess, but more and more schools are cutting recess to focus on academics. Most ironic—and tragic—of all, kids who are less active outside the classroom perform worse inside the classroom.
For all of these reasons, parents and caregivers need to step in and speak out as advocates for play.
Play Anywhere: The Power of Unstructured Play
If I’ve learned anything at KaBOOM!, it’s that you don’t need a slide and a swing set to play. As a kid, you can play anywhere.
And as a parent, sometimes that means stepping back and letting your kids do what kids do best: use their imagination.
When we launched Imagination Playground and Rigamajig, it was fascinating to discover what unstructured play can accomplish. When given little more than a few loose parts and enough space, kids don’t just build their own playgrounds; they build entire social networks. They can flex their muscles in creativity, communication, and collaboration, all while working up a sweat and having fun.
Building a playground anywhere can make a world of difference in a kid’s life, but that difference won’t be enough for kids everywhere unless we succeed in really building a movement.
“The easiest way to be an advocate for play is to foster a culture of play in your living room, kitchen, or backyard.”
Play Everywhere: How You Can Help
The easiest way to be an advocate for play is to foster a culture of play in your living room, kitchen, or backyard. And you don’t need a lot of money or time to do it.
When we launched our America’s Most Playful Family contest, we met families who made play a fundamental part of their family dynamic—from dinnertime dance parties to picking out soccer balls instead of iPads. This year, we’re giving our most playful families more than 1,000 prizes, including a trip to arguably the most playful places on earth, either Walt Disney World® Resort or Disneyland® Resort. I hope you’re one of them!
Of course, it’s a lot easier to be a playful family if you live in a playful community.
You can figure out where to find a safe play space in your neighborhood with our Map of Play—and if you can’t find one, you can call your city mayor and ask for play to be a priority, like Mayor Rahm Emanuel in Chicago did when he rose to our Playful City USA challenge last year.
These are just a few ways KaBOOM! has tried to become a more active advocate for active play in kids’ lives. But the real champions are the parents and caregivers who make play a priority for their kids and tell their elected leaders to do the same.
Because if anyone knows how much play matters, it’s you.