Evening Republican, Volume 23, Number 179, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 July 1920 — KEEPING CHILDREN OFF THE STREETS [ARTICLE]

KEEPING CHILDREN OFF THE STREETS

Vacation days bring again the problem of “keeping children off the streets.” That this is a community responsibility is made clear in suggested standards for children’s play published in “Standards of Child Welfare” by the Children’s Bureau of the U. S. Department of Laibor. These standards cover in detail the subject of organized recreation for city children only, but it is hoped that in the near future similar standards will be worked out for rural children, whose need for wholesome recreation under intelligent leadership is as great as the need of city children. The standards given declare that at least 2 hours of organized, play every day throughout the year are necessary for every child. To insure this, there should be a playground within a quarter of a mile of every child under 6 years of age, one within half a mile of every child over 6, and a baseball field not more than a mile distant from every boy old enough to play .on a team. One acre to serve 500 j children is advised as a minimum । amount of space. This general playground should not be used for games requiring a great deal of space. Baseball, football, tennis and similar’games should be provided for by an athletic field containing about 6 acres. Active play, the standards warn, should be carefully directed, and vigorous games should be followed by quiet ones. Every child over .10 years old should have a chance to play on a team of some sort, and special emphasis on team games for girls is recommended. Where lack of funds makes it necessary to limit equipment, the standards point out that game supplies such as basket balls, baseballs, bean bags, etc., are more important than fixed apparatus, though swings and a sandbox are essentiajs for little children. Leadership is declared to be of fundamental importance and should never be sacrificed to elaborate equipment. Experience has shown that splendidly equipped playgrounds are little used when they Jack the inspiration of real leadership, while nearby alleys and streets ■are crowded with children. The in-, teresting suggestion is made that children be formed into groups of from 8 to 12 members “with a gang leader self-selected and_ self-pro-pagating as in the old neighborhood type of gang.”