Children’s Play and Physical Activity in Traditional and Forest (Natural) Playgrounds

Risk play is outdoors play which involves a lot of physical activity. Parents' concerns will limit the range of movement to explore when playing risky. This research explores parents 'perceptions about playing risk as viewed from the child's age, gender, and reviews parents' knowledge about playing risk. The study was conducted in Purbalingga, Indonesia. The research subjects involved 33 mothers and 33 fathers of preschool children with ages ranging from 4 to 6 years. The study findings show that mothers and fathers have the same risk playing perception. Parents provide the highest support for children's play activities at risk such as climbing and jumping from a height. As for other activities, parents have concerns about the safety of children during these activities. Judging from the age of the father and mother allow children aged 4 years with 40%, 5 years 45% and 6 years 50% while seen from jrniskelmin, parents allow boys more than girls to play at risk with percentage of 55% compared to 40%. Perceptions of parents have an impact on providing risky playing opportunities.

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The Role of Physical Activity and Touch in Children’s Social Bonding

International Journal of Comparative Psychology ◽

10.46867/ijcp.2018.31.02.02 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 31 ◽

Author(s):

Megan Jefferies ◽

Bahar Tunçgenç ◽

Emma Cohen

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Helping Behavior ◽

Social Bonding ◽

Free Play ◽

Future Research ◽

Emotional States ◽

Observation Study ◽

Children's Play ◽

Touch Condition ◽

Children’S Play

Physical activity (PA) and touch, long known to facilitate interpersonal affiliation in adults and non-human primates, are common elements of children’s free play. However, no research has examined how children’s play involving PA and touch is linked with social bonding (i.e., positive emotional states and behaviors that help create, maintain and characterize affiliation and attachment among individuals). This paper reports on two novel studies designed to explore these links in children’s play. In two studies, we investigated associations between PA, touch and prosociality in 5-to-8-year-old children. In a naturalistic observation study (N = 50), we assessed the amount of PA, smiling/laughing, touch, and prosociality in children’s play behavior during school breaks. PA levels were also measured indirectly via heart rate monitors (HRM). The findings revealed that observed-PA was associated with the amount of smiling/laughing. PA (observed and HRM) was also associated with the amount of touch. In a second study (N = 84), we experimentally tested the effect of touch on helping behavior in the context of physically-active play. In pairs, children ran to collect felt shapes which they placed either onto each other (touch condition) or onto a board (no-touch condition). Subsequent helping behavior was assessed in a separate task. There was a non-significant trend towards more helping in the touch condition. We discuss the findings in terms of the significance of PA and touch for social bonding in childhood and offer suggestions for future research in this underexplored area.

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Mind the gap! Differences between parents’ childhood games and their children’s game preferences

Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood ◽

10.1177/1463949117742788 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 18 (4) ◽

pp. 434-442 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Sibel Balci ◽

Berat Ahi

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Computer Games ◽

Children's Play ◽

Group Cooperation ◽

Children’S Play ◽

Individualized Activities

This study discusses the differences between parents’ childhood games and their children’s game preferences. Four hundred and nineteen parents were surveyed to determine their play experiences as children as well as their children’s play experiences today. The results of the study indicate that there is a gap between the time spent outdoors by parents in their childhood and their children. Today, most children spend time indoors, usually playing computer games. The activities and games preferred by the children differed from those of their parents. Although the parents preferred mostly group games requiring group cooperation, competition between groups and physical activity, the children preferred more individualized activities such as cycling and playing in the park. The factors hindering children from playing outside are considered. Although most parents indicated that playing outside is beneficial for their children, they prevented their children from playing outside for reasons such as the dangers of being hit by a car or abduction.

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