Respect Starts on the Playground

October is Bullying Awareness Month, prompting me to think about all that we’ve learned at Playworks over the years about how respect takes root: not through lectures or campaigns, but through play and human interaction. From the beginning, Playworks focused on helping children practice the skills that make communities work: teamwork, empathy, fairness, and respect. We weren’t created as an anti-bullying program, and yet when the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation funded a randomized control trial evaluation of our work, schools with Playworks saw a significant reduction in bullying behaviors.

An RWJF evaluation expert once told me that she believed this was because Playworks approached the challenge from a primary prevention perspective, changing the playground environment itself. Instead of relying on awareness campaigns or punishment after the fact, we focused on redesigning recess so that every child could experience safety, joy, and a sense of belonging. By transforming the context, we changed the culture.

That insight continues to guide the work and feels extra important in this moment. Children learn how to treat one another by watching and practicing, and the behaviors we see in kids almost always reflect what they observe in adults. I’ve never been comfortable labeling a child a “bully.” They’re still learning what power, fairness, and respect look like in real life. When we model kindness and give kids opportunities to practice it every day, we help them build the habits of character that last a lifetime. 

That’s why I’m so thrilled that Playworks recently received a $10 million grant from the Lilly Endowment to deepen and expand our work helping adults create the conditions for children to develop the building blocks of strong character. This support will enable more children to experience play as a time when kindness is learned, community is built, and everyone has the chance to respectfully contribute.

And because I like to commemorate milestones playfully, I’ve created a new tee to mark the moment. It honors Playworks’ original name, Sports4Kids, but with a twist. A student once asked why we were called Sports4Kids when the logo showed five kids. So this one’s for them, with all the proceeds benefitting Playworks: Sports5Kids - a reminder that there’s always room for one more in the game.  You can get yours here!

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