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Seasonal and locational variations in children's play: Implications for wellbeing

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  • Ergler, Christina R.
  • Kearns, Robin A.
  • Witten, Karen

Abstract

Physical activity, through independent outdoor play, has come to the fore as a way to improve children's health through it fostering healthy mental and social as well as physiological development. However, in many high-income countries children's autonomous play opportunities have diminished due to urban intensification and declining parental license. Regardless of this trend, children's play varies across countries, cities, cultures and seasons. This paper offers new insights into the complexities of play as a vital aspect of children's wellbeing. Within the context of New Zealand – whose citizens generally regard themselves as outdoor people – this paper explores why ‘play’ might resonate differently across localities and seasons. We contrast the play affordances provided by Auckland's central city (dominated by apartment living) with Beach Haven, a suburban area. We employed a multi-method approach and included 20 children and their parents who were recruited through school and summer holiday programs embracing different gender and ethnicities to reflect the general cultural mix of the respective neighbourhoods. We advance two arguments. First, we suggest that the rarity of children playing outdoors unsupervised normalises supervised indoor play and reduces children's opportunities to see outdoor play as an alternative to interior or supervised pastimes. Second, we follow Bourdieu's theory of practice to argue that the regard parents and children have towards outdoor play reflects locally constituted beliefs about what is seasonally ‘appropriate’ children's activity. We found that extra-curricular activities and supervised excursions are undertaken in the central city all year around and only vary between social groups by the type of destination. In the suburb, independent outdoor play in summer represents children's main business after school in ways that enhance their environmental literacy and potential future health gain. For others these symbolic values were replaced by safety concerns. In contrast, it seems that even in a relatively mild climate winter is the time to relax and stay indoors unless children have an outdoor habitus. We find that the determinants of seasonal outdoor play transcend modifiable barriers such as traffic and unsuitable play spaces as well as the inevitable issue of inclement weather.

Suggested Citation

  • Ergler, Christina R. & Kearns, Robin A. & Witten, Karen, 2013. "Seasonal and locational variations in children's play: Implications for wellbeing," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 178-185.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:91:y:2013:i:c:p:178-185
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2012.11.034
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Sirard, J.R. & Ainsworth, B.E. & McIver, K.L. & Pate, R.R., 2005. "Prevalence of active commuting at urban and suburban elementary schools in Columbia, SC," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 95(2), pages 236-237.
    2. Howden-Chapman, Philippa & Viggers, Helen & Chapman, Ralph & O'Dea, Des & Free, Sarah & O'Sullivan, Kimberley, 2009. "Warm homes: Drivers of the demand for heating in the residential sector in New Zealand," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 37(9), pages 3387-3399, September.
    3. Fyhri, Aslak & Hjorthol, Randi, 2009. "Children’s independent mobility to school, friends and leisure activities," Journal of Transport Geography, Elsevier, vol. 17(5), pages 377-384.
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    Cited by:

    1. Christina R. Ergler, 2017. "Advocating for a More Relational and Dynamic Model of Participation for Child Researchers," Social Inclusion, Cogitatio Press, vol. 5(3), pages 240-250.
    2. Misagh Mottaghi & Maria Kylin & Sandra Kopljar & Catharina Sternudd, 2021. "Blue-Green Playscapes: Exploring Children’s Places in Stormwater Spaces in Augustenborg, Malmö," Urban Planning, Cogitatio Press, vol. 6(2), pages 175-188.
    3. Anna-Karin Lindqvist & Marie Löf & Anna Ek & Stina Rutberg, 2019. "Active School Transportation in Winter Conditions: Biking Together Is Warmer," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-14, January.

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