Free play is something we have endorsed before,. That is – in part – because it is critical to future happiness, emotional development, creativity, social skills, political savvy, curiosity, and self-control. The science is pretty clear on this. Yet it is rare to see children engaged in free play. On the rare occasions where a cluster of children is spotted it tends to be under the supervision of a group leader at one of any number of structured activities. While those activities may be useful in terms of filling in free time, too many of them are detrimental to child development. The outcomes since the early 1980s where the trend toward extracurricular overload began are sad. Increased anxiety and depression are but two of the negative long-term effects. And because of the length and depth of the trend, we are now in an age where many parents never had the chance to enjoy the benefits of free play.