Year 7 & 8 children in break time?!!! Is PLAYING a thing of the past?

My DD (yr 7) goes to a club most lunchtime, but she is very sporty and at a school that has extended lunch time (1.25 mins). They are made to do at least 3 activities a week (lunchtime or after school).

I suspect that a lot of her peers would happily sit around chatting all lunch time if they were allowed. Phoned aren't allowed to be on during school hours and will get confiscated if seen with them so that helps with the instagram stuff (during school time at least, still leaves plenty of group pouting time unfortunately).

I often walk past the school and have never seen anyone "playing" as they do in juniors so I suspect until it's a formal activity it just doesn't happen.

My DC are not allowed to use their phones at all or they're confiscated for a length of time between 1 day and half term (it builds up i.e. 1 day, 2 days, end of week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks, end of half term) and there aren't many lunch clubs apart from sport and musical theatre.
DS (Year 8)plays football or eats during lunch/break times. He usually goes to football and athletic clubs at lunch when they're on.
A boy in DD's year (Year 11) brings in cards against humanities in the winter so they play (illegally, may I add - they aren't allowed inside that building) under some stairs below their lockers. During the summer they play a variety of games including it, hide and seek, ninja, paranoia.... Occasionally a friend will bring a tennis ball in and they'll play piggy in the middle or 3 vs 3 football.
It's nice to see that 15 years olds don't care about playing!
But her lunches are now taken up by additional maths, school choir, "lunch and learn" and rehearsals for the school play - so she's only out for 25 minutes max a day.

Mine don't do clubs, they prefer to chill with their friends. DD1 in yr 8 hangs around with a big group, they sometimes play games (manhunt or card games) and sometimes just chat. DD2 in yr 7 is still getting to know people, as there are were only a couple from her primary that went to her secondary, she mostly hangs around in a small group chatting.

I used to "play" for the first year or two of secondary (started in 2007).We used to play a version of tag running around behind shelves and lockers (so you couldn't be seen until the last minute) or try to jump across at small stream at varying widths (at least once a month someone fell in...) but even then we were very much in the minority.

I don't think we were considered babyish, just a bit strange

The girls who didn't play would sit around and chat, or sometimes do silly things like make a list that matched up our teachers with their "corresponding" harry potter teacher.

By the time I left school I did notice that there was a lot more sitting around on phones in silence.

It depends on the child really. Most don't play as they consider play babyish. If however you have a daughter like mine then fully expect to be told about how they "and a couple of friends were playing a a game where we were wolf cubs at lunch. Some of the other girls told us they shouldn't be playing games any more. Well, I wasn't going to put up with that so I told them it was none of their business what we did. Then we carried on."

Outside I was proud of her for standing up for herself and being how she wanted to be. Inside I was extremely nervous for the attention it would get her. I shouldn't have worried, a year later and she hasn't had any trouble (or none that has bothered her). BUT she is also not in the slightest bit interested in phones etc, and doesn't pay a jot of attention to people who can't accept her for who she is.

My ds used to play football a lot.

My dds didn't get a huge amount of break time - by the time you've been let out a couple of minutes late, and been to your locker to dump stuff / get the stuff for the next lessons, then refilled your water bottle and/or gone to the canteen for something or just eaten a snack from home, then it would be time to go to the next lesson.

Dinner times - ds used to go to quite a few clubs (he is NOT what you'd consider a 'geek' so def didn't apply at his school). dds less so, but their canteen is tiny and the school organisation non-existent so they seem to spend most of (relatively short) lunch break queuing for their dinner.

You don't "go out to play" at secondary school though - never did even back when I was at school in the 70s, so not a new thing.

By the time they've been to and from lockers and eaten lunch, it sounds like there is not much break time left.

For the record, DS tells me he "chills out" during breaks.

IME girls don't play at secondary but boys do. THough this might be that a boys school allows the to still play without girls making adverse comments

Playground footy/rugby ( playground rugby- faints!) was popular at DS school up to about year 9-10.

Agree with yeOldeTrout, at DS's (very socially integrated religious high) school they play, but in a different way.

An anecdote - DS, in yr 11, told me yesterday that while he was 'socialising' (as yeOldeTrout described), a much younger boy "rode up" to his group. As he passed, the joker in his group threw his hands in the air and mock threw himself in front of the horse shouting 'Votes for Women'. LOL. This naturally and cleverly attracted the attention of the girls. I didn't hear what happened to the horse or its rider, but it demonstrates that the different year groups can and do rub along together.

DS school has 1hr 20 for lunch, half of which is for food and the other half he does one of the many clubs - table tennis, footy practice, debating and film making this term and on the other day the Astro pitch is full of boys playing footy. I like the way they do it and it's one of the reasons we chose the school.

Just because they use their phones doesn't mean they are glued to them. Break time is a flurry of social interaction at DC's high schools (where phones are indeed allowed). Could have heads buried reading books instead, if they want a small escape from the Chaos for break time instead. I suppose that's what folk moaned about 30-200 yrs ago.

One time I was at a country park as darkness fell while DC scrambled in trees. Turned on & then used my phone (ancient, camera-less) to send DH a text to say we'd be unexpectedly home late for tea. (Painfully slow at sending texts) A man walking by made some brisk comment about people who stare at their phones while surrounded by beautiful countryside that they should interact with instead.

Honestly, sometimes people just see what they expect and secretly want to see.

This thread has made me want to find a school that bans mobile phone use, for when my DC reach secondary! It must be so much healthier for them not to be glued to the screen.

Phones are perfectly fine.
Yr6s do less imaginative play than littler kids, anyway.

They do still play, but in a different way. Much more directly sociable, roaming, a lot of food sharing & gossip and flirting & showing off. There's still silliness & make-believe at times.

Yr8 the lads did take-down rugby tackles (going down under 5 other lads was how you knew you were firmly accepted in the gang).

yr7 DS is doing badminton today. Other days he might do other sport. Drama club allows for spontaneity, too.

DD is in y9 now but its been same since she started in y7. They just "hang out" together - chatting, listening to music ( via phones), eat, take photos, etc.

If they need to they will go to the library or a subject workshop to finish homework, retake a test, extra revision, etc.

Sometimes some go to a club - tend to be specific music ones though.

When I went inot year 7 there wasn't much playing. We did bring in elastics once and were besieged with happy year 11s who wanted to join in. Younger than that they rather looked down their noses at us being babies.

Dcs go to separate schools but both have very long lunch breaks so there is time for clubs & sports practice. Children come from a large area to both schools & there are lots of organised school buses so this works well. Clubs vary from maths to dissection society, there are also tabletennis tables available each day & volleyball & badminton outside in the summer. Small music groups - windband, flute groups, mini concerts, play rehearsals, debating, chess, external speakers.... Loads going on. Lunch is 1hr 25 mins at dds' school & 90 mins at DS's school. Quite a lot of activities are run by older pupils so no need for staff to not get a break.

DS used to play footy in Y7. Which is why black trainers are a much better idea for Secondary School boys!

Dd1 is in year 7 and she goes to the library every lunchtime/uses the computers.

When I was in y7, oh so many moons ago, nobody really played either though, apart from the keen footballers. We sat in the most sheltered place we could find (cloakrooms if we were lucky) and talked about what was on telly last night.

My DD is year 8, some of them stay in the ICT lab but most of them run around playing hunger games type stuff.
No phones allowed.

Ds does a club most days.

Apparently my DS just chills, eating sweets, with his mates.

No phones allowed

In the schools I've worked in, boys sometimes play football but girls just hang around in groups and chat. Lots more just sit in silence on their phones. There are plenty at clubs and in the library, too.

At ds's independent school, there is more evidence of both boys and girls playing catch and similar in the playground and a bit more running around. And compulsory to go to at least one or two clubs a week. But still lots of chatting, and social media use etc.

At my school the boys played football but girls stood around. It seems the same now as it was then but with more phones depending on school rules.

DS (equivalent to yr 7) still plays. They play manhunt or some weird made up Minecraft themed game that involves running around a lot. I know as he accidentally butt dialed me the other day and it was hilarious sneakily listening in for a minute.

DD (yr 8) uses her lunch hour by going to homework help, student council and a coding club.

Compared to DD, DS1 hasn't really changed much. With DD it was almost instant as if she had been waiting to be in a more grown up environment. DS is the youngest in the school though.