Washington state school bans playground game

Elementary school parents are sounding off through social media about the “hands off” approach, which doesn’t allow students to put hands on another student while at play during recess, meaning children can’t play the popular childhood game of tag.

Many parents have been critical over the decision. Many are upset about, with one reportedly saying “Good grief, our kids need some unstructured playtime”. Is tag an acceptable game for children at school to play?

Mercer Island School District decided on the ban “to ensure the physical and emotional safety of all students”, said communications director for the district, Mary Grady, to KCPQ.

Over 330 people have already joined a Facebook group Neher created to protest the ban, a significant amount given that Mercer Island has only about 20,000 people.

Tag, you’re not it!

The district’s vague response did not precisely ban “Tag”, but hinted at touch-free alternatives. The school said kids need to keep their hands to themselves whenever they go outside for recess.

This time, the victim is the beloved game many of us played as kids: tag.

Some students attending school in one Washington school district will not have that memory. “I even survived red rover, believe it or not”, she said.

It doesn’t have to do with drugs or weapons, but another part of the current school-policy-madness: The game of tag.

Several other parents noted that they all played tag as kids and they survived childhood just fine.

According to STAR Michigan: “The game ‘tag” was recently prohibited by Mercer Island Schools.

“In addition, elementary principals will seek student input and feedback on these expectations to demonstrate ownership in their learning”.

The cause for concern, the school district explained, were some “isolated incidents of unfortunate interactions that occurred on the playground where students were injured and some stemmed from games involving student contact with each other …”

As editor Lifson notes, we are becoming a “nation of delicate flowers”, where the game of “Tag” is banned but they teach about homosexual sex in the early grades.