by Nan C Avery

Created on: May 17, 2009   Last Updated: May 20, 2009

Have you ever watched kids on the playground playing tag? I played tag as a child, but it was usually on a grassy area and most of us knew that we didn't try to hurt the person you were tagging.

As a teacher, I have stopped many games of tag on the playground. Sometimes, the children look at me as if I don't know what I'm talking about and to forbid them from playing the game is just "being mean".

Over the years, I have seen many tragic accidents. Some children are not nice. The reasons for meanness are myriad and this isn't the forum. The "mean" kids have been around forever. I watched a little boy push (not tag) another little boy down on the blacktop. The little boy didn't get up and as I walked over to help, I saw the blood all over his shirt. His chin had been split open. When he got back to school the next day, he had five stitches. The boy who had pushed the other child, was bragging to his classmates how he had "gotten" the kid.

When we were children, we were expected to take our "lumps" as a part of growing up. Times have changed. We have become "sue-happy". If a child is hurt on a teacher's watch, a parent can sue the school district, the teacher and the family of the offending child.

I saw some students chasing each other up the slide and went over to investigate, ready to tell them about the "slide rules". The girls were chasing the boys. They were on the top rung of the slide, when a girl pushed (not tagged) a young man. She laughed as he fell. He skinned his knee and elbow. What if he had fallen on his head and broken his neck?

These are the consequences that children don't think about. After all, they are "invincible" (excuse the cliche). How nice it would be, if children would follow the rules. There are usually reasons why the rules are set up and most of the rules are to avoid potential harm to the children.

Some arguments by parents are that children need to be children and that tag games have been around forever. I am not opposed to parents letting their children invite other children to their house or the park to play tag. I believe parents have the right to decide what is best for their child.

Unfortunately, when the children are surrounded by other children in a school environment, there have to be rules. The rules are made to protect children. Experiences with children dictate the rules. The school's main purpose is to protect the children, make their school environment safe and ensure that learning can take place.

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