Springs elementary gives tag a timeout

On the playground of a northern Colorado Springs elementary school, tag is not “it.”

The touch-and-run game and any other form of chasing was banned this year at Discovery Canyon Campus’ elementary school by administrators who say it fuels schoolyard disputes.

“It causes a lot of conflict on the playground,” said Assistant Principal Cindy Fesgen. In the first days of school, before tag was banned, she said students would complain to her about being chased or harassed.

Fesgen said she would hear: “Well, I don’t want to be chased, but he won’t stop chasing me, or she won’t stop chasing me.”

Fesgen said two parents complained to her about the demise of tag, but she said that generally, parents and children didn’t fuss about the new rules. Running games are still OK, she said, as long as students don’t run after one another.

The Academy School District 20 elementary school isn’t the first in the Pikes Peak region to take issue with traditional recess games.

In 2005, two elementaries in Falcon School District 49 adopted a structured recess program, Trouble-Free Playground, that did away with games like tag in favor of alternative activities that cut down on physical contact. Evans and Meridian Ranch elementaries said the program encouraged more students to play games and helped reduce playground squabbles.

Nationally, several schools have done away with tag and other games because of the accidents and arguments they can lead to. It’s a trend that has rankled some parents and childhood experts who say games such as tag contribute to children’s social and physical development.

Fesgen, who has supervised playgrounds for more than 20 years, said this is not the first school where she’s restricted chase games. She still believes in free play. Students can run races and run around with friends, she said.

“There is plenty for them to do,” she said.

DETAILS

In 2005, two elementaries in Falcon School District 49 adopted a structured recess program, Trouble-Free Playground, that did away with chasing games in favor of other activities that cut down on physical contact. Evans and Meridian Ranch elementaries said the program helped reduce playground squabbles.