Our Mission is to advance sustainable healthy living in children and adults through cutting-edge
research, innovative community-based programs and dissemination of evidence-based
practices focused on the power of unstructured, outdoor play.
Our Vision is to develop a larger percentage of active, healthy and resilient children who become
active, healthy and resilient adults.
The LiiNK Project
The LiiNK Project (Let's Inspire Innovation 'N Kids) transforms the school environment
for learning and mental health through implementation of unstructured, outdoor play
throughout the day and character skill lessons daily.
This is a research-based, inclusive, innovative model developed and directed by Debbie Rhea, Ed.D., to promote mental health, resiliency, happiness, physical skills and body composition,
brain development and social interactions, while reducing stress and discipline issues
in children.
The LiiNK Center for Healthy Play is home of internationally known LiiNK Project,
and it:
Educates teachers on the importance of play and the outdoors
Trains teachers how to implement recess and character lessons daily
Develops effective classroom environments
Implement policies and procedures for quality school days
Improves teacher satisfaction and happiness
Gathers long-term data on students and teachers, tracking factors like social-emotional
health, behavior, attention, teacher retention, body composition, motor skills, strength
and stress levels
Right Moves: A LiiNK Center for Healthy Play Podcast
Inspired by The LiiNK Project and presented by TCU’s LiiNK Center for Healthy Play,
the “Right Moves” podcast delves into discussions on holistic well-being for both
children and adults. It centers on the state of the U.S. education system, national
health and strategies to restore overall wellness.
The podcast aims to spotlight fundamental health principles and introduce evidence-based
practices that can be applied effectively in various settings, including homes, workplaces,
schools, the medical field and community support groups.
Dr. Rhea has been an educator for the past 43 years, the first 11 years in K-12 physical
education and the last 32 years at the university level preparing physical education
teachers and researching children through physical activity and play. She is an author,
researcher, motivational speaker, educational consultant and behavior change trainer.
Dr. Rhea has received national media attention as a result of LiiNK from many different
news outlets such as "The Today Show," The Washington Post and NBC's "Nightly News." She has published in numerous journals and presented professionally
on many different topics related to living a healthy and productive life. Dr. Rhea
has received the Chancellor’s Award for Distinguished Achievement as a Creative Teacher
and Scholar and the Healthcare Hero Award from the Dallas Business Journal and the Fort Worth Business Press for her research to transform school policies and create intrinsically motivated active,
healthy children and adults. Her newest book, “Wrong turns, Right moves in Education,”
and her new podcast, “Right Moves,” reflect why the policies and procedures representing
LiiNK are needed in all aspects of our lives.
Connor earned her Master’s degree in Kinesiology with a concentration in sport and exercise
psychology from the University of North Texas, and a Bachelor’s degree in psychology
from Texas State University. Connor has an extensive background working with children
in various settings such as emergency shelters, elementary schools, foster care homes
and the juvenile justice system.
Lauren is a first-year master’s student with an emphasis in sport and exercise psychology
and focuses her research on the impact of a recess intervention on limb imbalances,
injuries and optimism in elementary school-aged children. Lauren’s goal is to get
a doctorate in sport psychology to become a sport psychologist and Certified Mental
Performance Consultant (CMPC) for dancers, health care workers and first responders.
Hailey is a first-year master’s student in kinesiology with an emphasis in exercise
and sport psychology and focuses on understanding the relationship that play has on
pre-adolescent children by assessing their motor skills and their levels of self-esteem.
Hailey’s future career aspirations are to get her doctorate in clinical psychology
and to become a sport psychologist.
Dennis Cheek, Ph.D., Hair Cortisol Lab Director
Yan Zhang, Ph.D., Statistician
Ann Johnson, Ph.D.
Michelle Bauml, Ph.D.
Current Projects
Limb imbalances and muscular strength deficits in children can increase injury risk
due to sedentary behaviors. Recess promotes physical activity and enhances bone and
muscle development. This study investigates whether more recess time improves overall
muscular strength and neuromuscular control in elementary kids. Five tests assess
lower limb (vertical jump and side-step), upper limb (push-up and grip strength) and
neuromuscular control (3-hop) during physical education classes. They also developed
the Movement Pattern Observation Tool (MPOT) to study limb movements during recess, spawning further graduate studies on
limb imbalances.
Obesity is a widespread issue in the U.S. among both adults and children. While Body
Mass Index (BMI) has traditionally been used to measure obesity, it's limited as it
doesn't assess body fat. Body Impedance Analysis (BIA) offers a more comprehensive
assessment, measuring fat mass, fat-free mass and body fat percentage by sending a
light electric current through the body. Our lab employs the TANITA IRONKIDS BF-2000
Wireless Body Monitor for these assessments. This scale is both valid and reliable,
making it suitable for field settings like schools, where we examine the impact of
recess time on body fat percentages in elementary children.
Elementary school children are facing mounting chronic stress, especially in the wake
of the COVID-19 pandemic. Anxiety levels among adolescents are soaring, with suicide
ranking as the 10th leading cause of death for 5–9-year-olds and the second leading
cause for 10–14-year-olds. Our undergraduate and graduate students are deeply committed
to the LiiNK intervention program, aiming to engage with these children in schools
and observing recess dynamics to enhance their physical and social-emotional development.
Through their research, they explore how recess frequency and socioeconomic factors
impact chronic stress in elementary students. With parental consent, these students
gather hair samples to extract cortisol levels, providing valuable insights into children's
stress levels.
Many U.S. children lack essential character skills, with empathy deficits contributing
to increased bullying and other negative behaviors. This longitudinal study assesses
whether the LiiNK intervention — a combination of 60 minutes of unstructured outdoor
play and daily 15-minute character development lessons — can enhance social-emotional
health in elementary children. Social-emotional health is evaluated using xSEL data,
measuring emotion regulation, social problem-solving, social perspective-taking and
self-control. These findings could shed light on the root causes of discipline issues
and unhealthy behaviors in schools.
