When President Obama gazes outside the Oval Office, he sees lushly manicured grounds and, if he’s lucky, two girls cavorting on a swingset.

Earlier this month, the Obama girls – Malia, 10, and Sasha, 7 – got home from school to discover a brand-new playset in their brand-new backyard.

While they slaved over the three R’s, their parents (I’ll venture to say Michelle did much of the legwork here) arranged delivery of their new playground equipment.

At first glance, there would seem to be little connection between a child’s work (school) and child’s play (um…playing).

But a study published recently in the journal Pediatrics debunks that. Recess, it turns out, is much more than an opportunity to fail miserably at kickball (my own personal experience). It’s actually as crucial to a child’s successful academic performance as “real” subjects like science or reading.

In the study, which tracked 11,000 children ages 8 and 9, those who got to run around, move their bodies and goof off for more than 15 minutes behaved better in class than those who had less time or none at all.

No recess? Yep, it’s happening right here in Wake County. Recently, my friend complained to the principal at her child’s elementary school after her daughter repeatedly reported her class got no recess. The reason? The class had misbehaved.

Study aside, any parent of young children knows a surefire way to ensure bad behavior is to curtail physical activity. Now, the study offers proof.

As a New York Times article about the research put it, “the best way to improve children’s performance in the classroom may be to take them out of it.”

Unfortunately, that Wake elementary school is far from the norm. The study revealed that 30 percent of children had hardly any recess or none at all.

That makes little sense to lead researcher, Romina M. Barros, a pediatrician and assistant clinical professor at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

“We should understand that kids need that break because the brain needs that break,” she told The Times. “You don’t punish a kid by having them miss math class, so kids shouldn’t be punished by not getting recess.”

It all comes down to the way the brain focuses. There’s “directed” attention, which kids employ when zeroing in on schoolwork or tests, and “involuntary” attention, which happens automatically any time there’s a distraction (a younger sibling screaming, for example, or the smell of fresh-baked brownies).

As any adult knows, directed attention is not boundless. Pound away at your computer long enough, and your brain – not to mention your eyes – needs a break. For schoolkids, recess offers one.

Last week, Obama called for a longer school day, a longer school calendar – however we achieve it, he wants kids to spend more time on academics.

Let’s just hope that doesn’t come at the expense of playtime, which he, of all people, appears to have recognized in a very public way on the grounds of the White House.

Bonnie appears Saturdays on TriangleMom2Mom.