Recess or Ritalin?

When Leanna was little several people suggested to me that she was hyperactive. I did a little research and found that hyperactivity goes hand in hand with ADD (attention deficit disorder), which I was sure she did not have. My personal theory was always that the perceived "hyperactivity" had something to do with the fact that we lived in such a tiny little house which required very little movement to pass through. We weren't outside as often as we should have been. So she just didn't have enough opportunity to burn off normal toddler energy. Relatives would often see her at my grandmother's house-a large house with a very long hall that Leanna loved to run through. She was so active there just because she could be, plain and simple!
This research backs my theory up, although they are referring to kids who do have ADD. But the need for play is part of all children. It is especially interesting in light of schools starting to cut back on or eliminate recess. It also occurs to me that some of the behavior or learning problems kids have in the AM might be lessened or eliminated by walking to school. Less discipline problems in older generations might actually be because kids don't walk to/from school anymore(and when they do it's usually not as far),and they have shorter or no recess, combined with less physical activity generally. As the article states, playtime has often been replaced with lessons. Our focus is on producing little geniuses and sucessful people. Ironic that we try to accomplish this by taking away the very things that might truly help!

To study the relationship between play and ADD, Jaak Panksepp, Ph.D., a neuroscientist at Washington State University, manipulated the brains of young rat pups to make them mimic the brains of children with ADD and ADHD. (Such children often have slightly smaller frontal lobes than children with longer attention spans, though they generally catch up before reaching adulthood.)
I thought this portion of the article was very interesting:
"His findings: The rats with laboratory-induced ADD played more frequently than rats whose brains had not been altered.
Panksepp then divided the rats into two groups: Those who were allowed to play as much as they wanted and those who were allowed only limited play. The results were even more surprising. That rats that were allowed ample opportunities for play did not become more wild, rambunctious or violent. Instead, they simply played normally and grew up to be non-hyperactive and socially well-adjusted—at least by rat standards.
However, the hyperactive rats that had only limited opportunities for play grew into rather rambunctious rats that had difficulty reading social cues from other rats.
Why medication may not be the answer
"Clearly, play seems to be an essential part of social and brain development," says Panksepp. "It's only after the need for play has been met that animals are ready to move on to more mature stages of development."
This research has convinced Panksepp that the restlessness seen in children with ADHD may simply be the children's way of expressing an innate need for more play. Instead of medicating children to stifle their behavior, Panksepp argues for providing kids with more opportunity to meet that need. In fact, he believes that this could be the key to ensuring their development into focused, socially adept adults.
We don't expect adults to engage in highly focused mental activity for hours on end without a break. Breaks (in the form of recess) are no less important for kids, and Panksepp's research suggests that they're even more important for kids with ADHD."