Kids Need Playtime Outdoors

Perhaps every school faces issues with unhappy neighbors who rage against the activity and noise associated with learning, developing, and growing.

It’s a befuddling concept, as schools are perhaps the most essential of operations, ensuring generations and communities thrive. They are the hearts and hubs of our neighborhoods.

Storyteller Children’s Center is on an even higher impact plane, serving at-risk infants, toddlers, and preschoolers out of three campuses, including their original campus on State Street. Many of these children have experienced significant adversity in their lives, which can affect the body and brain and have deleterious effects on long-term health.

For Storyteller’s neighbors to go after their play spaces — and play time — is particularly egregious and short-sighted. In order to actively mitigate trauma and foster social-emotional resilience in young children, two of the most critical tools are play; free, unhindered and joyous, and time outdoors.

Abusing the city process and forcing the Storyteller team to go through unnecessary hoops and fees compounds the challenges these students and families face.

Neighbor efforts are also needlessly adding to the workload of frontline, social change employees. Due to the high cost of living, this city is having a hard enough time retaining good educators and administrators.

These Storyteller neighbors need a broader world view. The city needs to stop doing their bidding.

Dr. Peggy Dodds is co-chair of the Board of Directors for Storyteller Children’s Center.