Due to safety concerns.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-204_162-57606514/n.y-school-bans-balls-at-recess-cracks-down-on-tag-games-over-safety-fears/

The kids needs these things during recess. It helps them to escape from the pressures of school life.

Yea I think adults forget that they are dealing with kids. In the old days the school day was about 6 hours long and classes went on from after labor day until Memorial Day. Kids had recess every day, story time and even naps until the second or third grade. Homework didn't exist until then either. Homework was something you did in about 20 minutes and it usually wasn't given on weekends and never on holidays. After school you went home. You didn't go to daycare until 6 at night. You didn't have scheduled activities 7 days a week from controlling parents. Over the years they kept adding more and more to the curriculum. Then came standardized testing. The school day and school year became longer and recess, lunch and PE was shortened. There were less field trips and things like parties were eliminated. Homework went from two to three hours a week to two to three hours a night. School became long and boring. Kids that didn't conformed were labelled and medicated. It just has gotten worst. It's really sad. Some people's answer is giving the schools more money and to give kids more work to raise the test scores. No they need to eliminate all of this extra crap and get back to the basics of reading writing and math. They need to make school a place that kids want to go to. A place where they can socialize and have fun. There has to be a balance of work and fun. There has to be a childhood!

They never do. In their eyes they are kids that don't know what is best for them. If they don't like it, it's too bad. If they don't do what they are told they will be punished for it. It's always been that way, but it seems like years ago they at least tried to please the kids. I sort of came in on the tail end of it when I started school in 1981. By the 4th grade they ended field day, most parties and banned parents bringing things like cup cakes and cookies to the school. There was no recess and only PE which was full of rules. We were only allowed two restroom breaks a day and usually denied if we asked at any other time. They actually banned us from talking during lunch at one point. Everything seemed like it revolved around keeping us still a quiet the entire day. I was sent to the office weekly and got padded 3 times in just a couple of months into the new school year. I literally failed every subject on my first report card. That combined with other on going issues was why my parents put me in private school. Funny thing is I didn't have any issues when I first started school, but by the 4th grade I was all screwed up. My abusive 3rd grade teacher didn't help. The bottom line is school should be fun and kids should have time to move around and socialize.

Yea parts of my childhood and several parts of my teen years were pretty tough. Looking back it amazes me that some of the stuff I experienced actually happened. It effected me well into my adult life. I've realized recently that my life has overall been pretty good. Most of the bad I've experienced has been the result of miserable people that wanted to bring me down. My abusive 3rd grade teacher was ultimately jealous of how happy of a kid I was. She probably had a horrible childhood and felt like I needed a taste of it.

Sadly there are still teachers and staff out there that bully kids. Look at the kids that are getting expelled for the so called "zero tolerance". There are literally 1000s of stories. Like these kids were for playing with air soft guns on their own property before school.

http://dailycaller.com/2013/09/25/awful-school-expels-kids-who-played-with-airsoft-gun-on-private-property/

I'm not surprised. All these yuppies have been moving to NYC, especially Brooklyn, over paying for property and driving out the original people and culture. When I was young we used to play games in front of our building, we had great times and everyone knew each other. Now you might get a fine for being in front of the building for too long. They even wanted to ban the ice cream truck! They overpay for condos in packed buildings and then complain about the noise. If one day I'm lucky and win a big enough jackpot with millions to burn I will buy some of those properties and turn them back into section 8 at a loss just to stick it too those gentrifying bastards for ruining my childhood neighborhood.

What next? Kids won't be allowed to play in the sprinklers?