"Everything feels heavier for them. School days are longer. Homework starts earlier. What we now call "free time" is often filled with organized sports, tutoring, or screens. Schedules, routines, and pressure have replaced the easy rhythm of childhood. It has taken a toll on the mental health of our children over the past 50 years. Anxiety, depression, and attention problems have risen sharply."
"Somewhere along the way, we stopped letting kids be kids. We turned early childhood into a race, pushing academics sooner, cutting down on recess, and filling afternoons with "productive" activities. Kindergarten classrooms now look more like first or second grade. After school, instead of running around with friends, many kids go straight to lessons, practices, or tutoring. Parents do this out of love."
Children now face longer school days, earlier homework, and after-school schedules filled with organized activities and screens. Free, imaginative, unstructured play has declined as recess shrinks and academics move earlier. Over the past 50 years, anxiety, depression, and attention problems among children have risen sharply, and many children quietly carry worries they cannot name. Parents and educators prioritize readiness and productivity, unintentionally increasing stress and reducing time for play. The loss of unstructured play erodes confidence, creativity, resilience, and the simple joys of growing up. Restoring opportunities for free play could support children's mental health.
Read at Psychology Today
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