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I fully believe that there are some families who encourage their children to play inside and out, to read poetry, sing songs, and engage in trying out new activities. There will be another Steve Jobs-possibly at Pixar and even at Disney.

Hey Darrell......Can you come out and play? If you've got the time, we've got the trees, the pond, the creek, the bikes, the jump ropes, the horses, llamas, chickens, sheep, goats, ( and all the poop that goes with them). But most importantly, we've got the kids who know how to play and show the taller kids (aka teachers) what's up.

Check us out at www.keystoneadventureschoolandfarm.com and come play at Keystone....We are serious about the business of play so that when these people are older they can find the play in serious business.

Keystone Adventure School and Farm is a working farm and art-based elementary school that values children and childhood while creating a safe place for all types of learners. We are a multi-aged, project-based and process oriented school where the kids begin their day by shoveling poop and end it with cleaning our 12,000 sq ft converted farm house. We build in failure believing it to be a key component to success. "From Poop to Polish" is the G rated version of a regular day at Keystone. And we were
GREEN before green was cool. Kinda like Kermit, the Frog.

The result of all this play and hard work? Divergent thinkers, problem detectives and solvers, barefoot builders, mental mathematicians, and awesome kids. Come on, Darrell...come out and play! Jenny Dunning:)

Love it!  I do not agree .....there will be another steve jobs however they are probably either in school doing poorly by todays standards or maybe wagging to go and create what they see as beautiful/important.  We are a resilient bunch.  Think of the adverse situations previous generations have endured...World Wars etc and still great creative people rise from the adversity.  Todays children just have a different kind of adversity but some will rise above it doing great things.

Ironic that the person you choose to name made one of the very things that take away our own children's creativity-video games galore!

I think many in the early childhood field totally agree with this article. What puzzles me is that when it comes to policies and funding, we do not follow through. For example, in Colorado a group of early childhood 'experts' recently recommended the state do more to teach literacy in our programs. Not art. Not play. Not physical activity. Not music. But literacy.

NCLB is a disaster, and "race to the top" even more so. But where are the early childhood adovocates of play protesting these assembly-line approaches to education?

Thank you for sharing this valuable article. It is so extremely important that everyone realizes that play and especially play outside is critical to the optimal development of children.
Numerous studies demonstrate the ways in which a the brain develops best. This extensive research clearly shows that children need interaction with real objects and people, movement and physical activity, and opportunities to explore, experiment and imagine for real learning and healthy brain connections to occur.
In addition, research explains how beneficial nature and time spent outdoors benefits the brain and overall healthy development.
This post helps in the effort to make this common knowledge and hopefully will lead to these experiences taking place daily for ALL children!

The comments about lack of play and play opportunities for children may indeed represent a portion of our population, however, the comment "Will the next generation have a Steve Jobs?" and then relating it to the fact the Steve "played as a child" is a weak argument.

It's completely illogical to construe that Steve's success as a business man has anything to do with the fact that he "Played" as a child. That's like saying Albert Einstein was so smart because he at bagels.

And, since the comment ends with a ?question mark? I'll answer the question with a simple "NO". The world will not have a "next" Steve Jobs.

Steve passed away and though he leaves a legacy of success and creativity . . . it is a disservice to our children to preclude that "because of this, or that, or anything, including living "in sterile, risk-averse, and highly structured environments"; the next generation will not have a Steve Jobs (or someone like him).

Nothing can stop the creative juices from flowing at any stage or age of life; including Childhood.

Whether or not "we are failing to cultivate artists, pioneers, and entrepreneurs. . ." is clearly a matter of opinion, and one that does the very thing Mr. Hammond says we shouldn't be doing . . . "denying" our children by pigeon-holing ALL of them into a little box; one that says our kids are screwed up because they don't play enough.

Should we hear these comments as a vote of confidence in our future and the future of our world, or as a sentence to fail.

And . . . if you really want to honor Mr. Jobs' legacy - buy the new I-pod!

these comments of course call for a complete reworking of how we do daycare.

I live in New England. Recently a corporate childcare program with hundreds of centers worldwide wants to open a program in the neighborhood.

They have told the neighbors not to worry about having the children have much of an impact on the neighborhood, as they don't take them out in winter or in inclement weather.

We have far to go before we 'let our kids outside' again.