We know that strong social connections are linked to a variety of positive health outcomes: they mediate the development of cognitive, social and emotional competencies such as empathy, altruism, compassion, problem-solving, emotional regulation and coping strategies (See Bagwell & Schmidt, 2011; Durlak et al., 2011; Umberson & Karas-Montez, 2010). Carefully built in to our program is a focus on changing the playground culture - specifically, we design the setting thoughtfully so that the patterns of interaction among children are more inclusive and compassionate.
