Schoolchildren who eat lunch before playtime tend to gobble down their food to get outside quicker, causing stomach cramps, wasted food and wound-up children, say advocates of recess before lunch.

“At the elementary school level, the thing on the forefront of their minds is getting outside and playing,” said Jackie Marlette-Boras, president of the Maryland Dietetic Association.

As a solution, many schools, such as Hollifield Station Elementary in Ellicott City, are holding recess before lunch, but the trend is still rare.

“It really is something I think is going to catch on more and more,” Marlette-Boras said.

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Children who play first will be less inclined to rush through the meal, she said. When it’s time for lunch, they will be hungrier and ready to settle down, and later they will be more focused when they reach the classroom, she added.

Although it may seem like a simple switch, several barriers exist, according to a 2005 study from the National Food Service Management Institute at the University of Mississippi.

Often the concerns focus on the logistics, such as ensuring children will wash their hands on their way inside from the playground or scheduling lunch shifts, researchers found.

It’s also more traditional that lunch is held first, said Alice Jo Rainville, a member of the School Nutrition Association and a professor at Eastern Michigan University.

Montana has been a leader in the movement, and the Montana Office of Public Instruction published a guide to help schools implement a recess-before-lunch policy. The guide recommends schools include hand washing as a step before heading into the cafeteria.

Last year, Howard County schools placed hand-gel sanitizer dispensers near school cafeterias in every elementary school.

smichael@baltimoreexaminer.com