DeWine: More K-8 recess time, less screen time

(The Center Square) – As he approaches the end of his second term, Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine on Tuesday stressed the state’s strengthening economy and expressed concern for the future health of its young people.

The governor, in his last State of the State speech, endorsed longer recess periods for public school students and worried about the effects of too much exposure to social media.

DeWine, speaking before a joint session of the Legislature, talked about the importance of a “play-based” childhood.

He quoted the author of a book “The Anxious Generation” who wrote that unstructured free play helps support a child’s mental health and contributes to life skills such as creativity, collaboration and resilience.

“An age-old form of unstructured play for children is recess,” the governor said.

Ohio schools allow up to two 15 minutes periods of recess each day for students in kindergarten through the sixth grade, DeWine said.

“That’s simply not enough,” the governor said.

He praised a bill introduced i...