For the first time we face the possibility that a generation will pass away before their parents. Childhood obesity rates are climbing, and physical activity and sport participation levels are decreasing. Children today spend more time in front of a television or computer screen than kicking the soccer ball around.  

And now, we have the infamous ball ban at Earl Beatty Public School in Toronto. It’s pretty hard not to have heard of it – even Saturday Night Live picked up the story. The school recently put into force a ban on the use of hard balls on their school yard over safety concerns for students and parents. The school yard is small, and there have been several recent incidents of parents and kids being hurt from a ball; one parent suffered a concussion after they were hit with a soccer ball. Their solution has been to restrict soccer balls, baseballs, basketballs and any other sport ball that has the potential to hurt an individual on impact.

Though I can sympathize with their struggle to create a safe play area, banning the tools that encourage play and imagination is backwards. We have too easily forgotten what it means to be a child and have clouded the issue with adult concerns of safety and the possibility of injury. We have gotten so caught up in the potential of injury and risk that we have lost focus of our goal. We want our kids to be outside, active and playing. Even the children themselves are asking for this opportunity.

Running, playing, kicking, and throwing can be unpredictable activities, especially for elementary-aged children. But this is an age where kids are developing the fundamental skills that will allow them to grow into adults who are confident and competent in taking part in physical activity. Every kicked ball that flies astray helps ensure that the next ball sails straighter. In addition, the balls that are banned are also the ones commonly found in team sports, the kind of sports that teach children about fair play, leadership and compromise.

Earl Beatty Public School has a small playground. Managing this space is a challenge. But first and foremost, it is a playground. It is a space for children to learn to move and to hone their skills. It is a place for them to get the physical activity they need and to learn the joys of play while also learning respect for one another and safety. But by outright banning the equipment that helps students enhance their abilities, the message that they hear is that play is dangerous. This doesn’t build confidence in sport and physical activity - it adds further motivation to sit down. As parents and adults it is our responsibility to teach children how to control and enhance their movement and skills, not to punish it.

A balance must be struck. One that recognizes the safety concerns associated with a small space while also allowing the children to participate in active play. A student-oriented monitoring and leadership solution is one way. Older students could be empowered to take a more active role in monitoring and modeling safe play, providing a leadership role and acting as role models for younger students.

Increased yard supervision is another approach. During school hours more teachers could be added to help teach and enforce safe play. After school and before, parents could be engaged in this role. The school could also designate a separate space on the playground that would allow the children to play without fear of hurting parents or visitors to the school, or designating spaces and/or days dedicated to one particular sport, such as a baseball area or a soccer area. 

These are just a few options that a school with a small yard could explore. Certainly, if there was an easy answer we wouldn’t be reading about this issue in the national media. But I don’t think the solution is to ban hard balls and reduce the quality of play. I think the editor at Parent Central  summed up this situation best: there is a risk involved with having children playing in a small space. The thing about risk is that it has to be balanced against reward. And in this case the reward is the kind of free play and exercise that today’s screen-focused kids need.