Is Tag Too Tough for Kids?

June 24 -- Depending on your brawn, athleticism or popularity, if you ever went to grade school you remember well your place in the playground game hierarchy.

You either desperately dodged the ball or fiercely beaned classmates with it. You were the captain of the team or the last one chosen. Or perhaps out of fear or shyness, you just blended in until the bell saved you.

For generations, recess games were considered mere child's play, even if they broke limbs occasionally or, more regularly, hurt feelings. These days, though, some educators have their sights set on some of the more potentially vicious playground activities, prompting a debate about whether banning such games is enlightened or over-protective.

Click here for some "controversial" games.

In one school in Santa Monica, Calif., the familiar game of tag is "it." The principal of Franklin Elementary School caused a ruckus when she wrote in a recent weekly school newsletter that the chase game was banned during the lunch recess of the grade school, which houses kindergarten through fifth-grade students.

Tag and similar games caused concussions, broken bones and numerous bumps and scrapes among the Franklin Elementary students in the past year. But physical danger was not the only harm cited.

"In this game, there is a 'victim' or 'It,' which creates a self-esteem issue. The oldest or biggest child usually dominates," the principal wrote.

The playground tag prohibition spurred a public debate. The Los Angeles Times picked up the story, as did at least one local talk radio show whose host lambasted the principal for her decision.

The Game of Life

The Santa Monica tag debate resembles a similar fracas the last few years over dodgeball — also known in some areas as bombardment. Concern over the game's potential for brutality and intimidation led school districts in New York, Virginia, Maryland, Maine, Ohio and Texas to ban dodgeball.

What's all the fuss about the games we have all played — and for the most part, survived?