don's report archive

by Donald B. Ardell, Ph. D.

Wellness in the Headlines
(Don's Report to the World)

We all know that childhood ain't pretty, just as nature is not always the way Thoreau, Emerson and John Muir depicted it. Alfred Tennyson's description ("red of tooth and claw") better describes some aspects of childhood. I refer to the ways in which little (and not so little) boys and girls are mean to each other, rude, hurtful and just plain nasty. I think they get these tendencies from their parents. Fortunately, most of them, like us, grow out of such cruel indulgences and learn a few social graces, and before long, they are tolerable people, able to manage in the world. A pity we can't speed the process.

All of which leads me to the topic of dodge ball. Recently, anti-dodge ball forces from Connecticut to California, New York, Virginia, Maryland, Maine, Ohio and Texas have identified the game as harmful to our children's well-being and future adjustment in society. Can you believe it? This is the same popular schoolyard game played by toddlers down through the ages. George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and even Richard Nixon played dodge ball! Admittedly, it is a game you either love or hate based on primordial memories of your own childhood. I loved it, which I hesitate to admit, since you might think this means I was a schoolyard bully and nearly caused a Columbine incident in the 1950's!

Some parents claim that dodge ball makes kids worse than they naturally are. This is hard to fathom. They say the game ruins self-esteem, except for the bullies or athletically gifted, who excel at it. They claim that it breeds cutthroat competition and bad sportsmanship. Furthermore, critics allege that some kids are damaged playing the game, and not only hurt feelings are endured -- teeth have been broken, noses bloodied and, when falls occur, bones cracked. Not surprisingly in this litigious era where many people try to make others responsible, there are serious liability concerns, particularly for school districts.

In what must be the unkindest cut of all, the anti-dodge ball forces argue that this wretched excuse for a game does not even provide a decent cardiovascular workout. The National Amateur Dodge Ball Association, however, claims the game is a very good cardiovascular workout (depending on the rules, I suppose), adding that it also affords a good time and, with the right supervision/equipment and age-appropriate rules, is "safe fun." Who do you want to believe?

There are other pro-dodge ball forces out there. Vanity Fair magazine called it an "in" sport, for what that's worth. There have been two films made about it recently, one a comedy, the other a drama and there is now a TV show called "Ultimate Dodge Ball" under network review.

The game does have a bit of a PR problem. In some schools, it is called murder ball, killer ball, predator ball, bombardment or "Ruin The Life Of Infidel Scum Ball" and similar imaginative names that kids invent to worry adults. Naturally, a few health educators who have become sensitive, new age guys are leading spokespersons for banning the game they claim to have enjoyed as kids but now view as excessive social Darwinism.

I'm sure you can't wait to learn my assessment of all this fuss and to discover my Solomon-like wellness insight on these contretemps. Might I have a suggestion or two that would, if embraced by all, preserve the game while calming the fears of critics who feel duty-bound to stop the emotional slaughter and physical mayhem?

I believe I do.

If the first purpose of recreation is fun with activity a close second, I say "Let's try to save dodge ball, not bury it." I think the game can be fun for everybody if but a few simple steps are taken. First, only those who want to play or at least don't object to playing should be invited to do so. Second, a responsible adult should be in charge who can explain and enforce the rules for fair play under the principle that nobody gets hurt. For example, use a soft ball, require all to aim below the shoulders and to wear protective gear. Naturally, efforts can be made to ensure that the kids playing the game are equal in size and ability. Kids who appear to have attractive career opportunities in major league baseball should be required to throw with their off-hand! Sheeesh, do we have to take ALL of the fun out of this game?

On the other hand, it may be a little tricky to communicate the desired values of harmony, community and cooperation with a game that essentially involves trying to obliterate some hapless victim, but isn't that why we pay our physical educators big bucks? How else are teachers supposed to find out who the other kids consider nerdy and deserving of martyrdom? In my view, it will never be possible, let alone desirable, to shelter children from life's hard knocks. It's enough if sensitive adults observe the dynamics of their little charges, control the mayhem and take notes for later analysis, just as biologists do with lions, crocodiles and wildebeests on the Serengeti! Thanks to the latter's learned observational techniques, we can all enjoy watching films of the critters doing their thing on "Wild Kingdom" and other such shows of life as it is and always has been. Remember that line from Tennyson ("red of tooth and claw"?) Kids need to be exposed to competition, getting picked on, being eliminated, losing and other such unpleasantries. In that fashion, again with sensitive adults present to facilitate such insights, they will learn how important it is to overcome disappointments, unfairness, setbacks and otherwise to become more resilient. Think of dodge ball as nature's way.

A Sports Illustrated writer named Rick Reilly remarked that "some parents want their Ambers and their Alexanders to grow up in a cozy womb of non-competition, where everybody shares tofu, and Little Red Riding Hood and the big, bad wolf set up a commune, but then their kids will stumble out into the bright light of the real world and find out that, yes, there's weak and there's strong and teams and sides and winning and losing." (See Martin Miller, "Critics Aim to Bounce Dodge Ball Off the Schoolyard," The Los Angeles Times, Mar 18, 2002). Just so. Better they discover these lessons playing dodge ball. In fact, I'm going to look for a game myself later today. I just hope there is a responsible adult around to supervise things.

Be well -- look on the bright side of life.

(Note: This essay will be filed in the archives in the PHYSICAL DOMAIN under the skill area of adaptations and challenges. Additional articles related to this theme may be found there.)

(Ed. Note: Views expressed in this and other columns are those of the author and not necessarily those of the SeekWellness Editorial Board.)

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