The Alliance for Childhood promotes policies and practices that support children’s healthy development, love of learning, and joy in living. Our public education campaigns bring to light both the promise and the vulnerability of childhood. We act for the sake of the children themselves and for a more just, democratic, and ecologically responsible future.
New Publication:
Facing the Screen Dilemma:
Co-authored by the Alliance for Childhood, Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, and Teachers Resisting Unhealthy Children’s Entertainment
This guide is designed to help educators and parents make informed decisions about whether, why, how, and when to use screen technologies with young children. Just because products are marketed as “educational” doesn’t mean they are. How do we best support children’s growth, development, and learning in a world radically changed by technology? Download your free copy here.
A Facebook page has been set up devoted to discussing the ideas in Facing the Screen Dilemma. Visit the Facebook page here.
Upcoming Events
• The Unfolding Conference will be held October 23-26 in Brussels. Sponsored by a coalition of groups including the European Alliance for Childhood, this meeting will focus on creating a culture based on children being allowed to unfold their unique potential and engage in society. Read more here.
National Resolution Against High-Stakes Testing
The movement calling for the re-examination of high-stakes testing is growing rapidly. Over 17,600 individuals and 539 organizations have signed the National Resolution on High-Stakes Testing petition. Fairtest offers many ways for people to build support for the Resolution.
Linda Rhoads is New Alliance Director
May 1, 2012 marked a new stage in the Alliance’s 13-year history. Joan Almon, founding director, took on a new role as Director of Programs, and Linda Rhoads became the Alliance’s new Executive Director. "With Linda and Joan working closely together, we are positioned to step forward strongly and thrive," as Board chair Rosario Villasana put it.
Board member Katrina Klaphake notes that “Linda brings a wealth of experience as executive director of environmental education organizations and as a leader in advancing the legislation called No Child Left Inside. She has received awards for her nonprofit capacity building work and her leadership in national advocacy initiatives. She recently participated in a summit at the White House on women and the environment. We are honored to have her at the Alliance’s helm.”
Recent Videos
Produced by the Alliance and KaBOOM!, this film stresses the idea that children's risk-taking is important for becoming comfortable and secure in the world. Watch it now
The family that plays together stays together. A KaBOOM! film featuring many children along with six play advocates, including the Alliance's Joan Almon. Watch it now
Also view our earlier films:
Prescription for Play
Physicians speak out on the importance of play for children's health. Co-produced by Alliance for Childhood and KaBOOM!
Playwork: An Introduction
On May 8, 2012, the Alliance and the Gesell Institute in partnership with the US Department of Education hosted a one-day event in Washington, DC. Now you can view the event via a Livestream recording. The flier and the program are also available.
Keep up with Alliance for Childhood activities!
All of the Alliance Updates are archived here.
Recently Published:
A Research-Based Case for More Play and Less Pressure
by Joan Almon and Edward Miller
This four-page article succinctly makes the case for
play-based education.
Crisis in the Kindergarten:
Why Children Need to Play in School
Research shows that many kindergartens spend 2 to 3 hours per day instructing and testing children in literacy and math—with only 30 minutes per day or less for play. In some kindergartens there is no playtime at all. The same didactic, test-driven approach is entering preschools. But these methods, which are not well grounded in research, are not yielding long-term gains. Meanwhile, behavioral problems and preschool expulsion, especially for boys, are soaring. A flier and 8-page summary of the report, including recommendations for action, are also available.
Fact sheet on kindergarten testing, with advice especially for parents.
On May 28, 2009 the Alliance co-hosted Congressional briefing on early education with the Forum for Education and Democracy.
A webinar hosted by KaBOOM! and featuring the authors of the report was recorded on June 2, 2009.
Click here for media coverage of Crisis in the Kindergarten.
Play in the News
Why I Cannot Support the Common Core Standards
Diane Ravitch
February 26, 2013
My View: Obama, Romney need to know one thing about early childhood education — start over
Nancy Carlsson-Paige
CNN online, August 29, 2012
The Power of Play with Children
Alexa Joy Sherman
New Parent, June 2012
Keep the Fun in Kindergarten, Expert Says
Molly Walsh
Burlington Free Press, May 11, 2012
Ban Homework Before Third Grade; Support Children's Play
Bonnie Harris
Christian Science Monitor, April 24, 2012
Killing Kindergarten
Amanda Moreno
The Huffington Post, March 29, 2012
Toddlers to Tweens: Relearning How to Play
Stephanie Hanes
The Christian Science Monitor, January 22, 2012
The American Academy of Pediatrics has released its second report on play with a focus on children in poverty.
Read it here.
Fun and Leisure: Restoring Play to All Children
Joan Almon
Published by NCPAD
The Alliance executive director writes about inclusive play.
How children's 'play' is being sneakily redefined
Alfie Kohn
The Washington Post, November 16, 2011
Preschool Tests Take Time Away from Play—and Learning
Paul Tullis
Scientific American, November 2, 2011
Paul Tullis raises the questions, "The trend in early education is to move from a play-based curriculum to a more school-like environment of directed learning. But is earlier better? And better at what?"
All Work and No Play: Why Your Kids are More Anxious, Depressed
Esther Entin, M.D.
The Atlantic, October 12, 2011
Dr. Entin writes, "Play time is in short supply for children these days and the lifelong consequences for developing children can be more serious than many people realize."
Click here for more...
The Alliance works with other organizations to advocate for play for all children, both in school and out. It also promotes the profession of playwork. Playworkers support children’s play in parks and other settings without dominating or directing it. For fact sheets, videos, booklets, and more on play and playwork, click here.
New from the Alliance: Where Do the Children Play? A newly revised and expanded edition of the Study Guide to the PBS documentary film, with essays by scholars and teachers on the history, psychology, and politics of children’s free play and the growing movement to bring it back into children’s lives. A selection from the book; ordering information.
The Alliance and the Association for Childhood Education International have launched an international campaign to improve the conditions of childhood around the world. Too many children grow up without the basic skills needed in a modern world—not only academic skills but also empathy, civility, and a sense of ethical behavior. Many are more comfortable with electronic relationships than face-to-face human ones. Too many are alienated from the world of nature. The long-term effects of an unhealthy childhood will weaken societies that need educated, creative, compassionate, and well-rounded citizens who can bring mature insights to complex issues. The Decade was launched at the Global Summit on Childhood, in Washington, March 28-31, 2012.
Alliance Childhood poster
(with poem and statement of 7 essentials of healthy childhood)
11 x 17 print size
8 1/2 x 11 page one and page two
To order print copies of the 11 x 17 poster ($5) go to the donation page and type "poster" in the note line.
A Dozen Years of Advocacy
For the Sake of Children
The Alliance was founded in 1999 so that educators, health professionals, and other advocates for children could join forces to reverse the decline in children's health and well-being. Its public education and advocacy campaigns focus on restoring play to children's lives, the overuse of computers and other advanced technologies in childhood, the commercialization of childhood, and the impact of high-stakes testing on children and their schools. The Alliance has published reports and position statements. It is a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization based in College Park, Maryland, with partners and affiliates all over the U.S. and in Europe and South America.
