Parent and Child Perceptions of Grade One Children's Out of School Play

Abstract

The transition from kindergarten to Grade 1 is marked by a sudden decrease in children’s play time (Broström, 2005; Hartmann & Rollett, 1994). This study sought to examine 69 Montreal-area Grade 1 children’s beliefs about out of school play, as well as their parents’ (N = 56) perceptions of their play. Findings indicate that parents value play for their child’s development and education, for building relationships and self-esteem, for processing emotional experiences, for relaxation, and for fun. Many parents expressed a preference for active outdoor play, as well as pretend and creative play, board games, and puzzles, explaining that they discouraged television and video games, aggressive play, and play with sexual themes. Children reported enjoying active outdoor play, toys, construction and art activities, and video game play, with parents, siblings, friends, and pets. Limitations to play included lack of neighbourhood children, parents or siblings who did not play, and restrictions to inviting friends over.

Conceptions of play by children in five countries: towards an understanding of playfulness (Las concepciones acerca del juego de niños de cinco países: hacia un mejor conocimiento de la actividad lúdica)

“…This work ranges in size from small in-depth qualitative case studies (Wong et al, 2011) to larger quantitative studies of several hundred participants (Barnett, 2013). Based on the analysis of children’s behaviour and voices, a number of commonalities can be seen, with children perceiving play as fun and enjoyable (e.g., Barnett, 2013; Lehrer & Petrakos, 2011; Wong et al, 2011), having something to play with (e.g., Barnett, 2013; Howe, 2016; Karrby, 1990; Robson, 1993; Rothlein & Brett, 1987) and engaging with games with rules (e.g., Lehrer & Petrakos, 2011; Karrby, 1990; Rothlein & Brett, 1987). The context of the activity has also been found to be important; for example, outside (Rothlein & Brett, 1987) and on the floor tend to be seen as more playful spaces than desks or tables in the classroom (Howard, 2002; Kahyaoǧlu, 2014).…”

“…Estos trabajos varían en tamaño desde pequeños estudios cualitativos de caso, muy detallados (Wong et al, 2011), a estudios más amplios con varios cientos de participantes (Barnett, 2013). A partir del análisis de los comportamientos y las voces de los niños, pueden observarse ciertos aspectos comunes: el juego como una actividad divertida y placentera (e.g., Barnett, 2013; Lehrer & Petrakos, 2011; Wong et al, 2011), que requiere disponer de algo con que jugar (e.g., Barnett, 2013; Howe, 2016; Karrby, 1990; Robson, 1993; Rothlein & Brett, 1987) e involucra determinadas reglas (e.g., Lehrer & Petrakos, 2011; Karrby, 1990; Rothlein & Brett, 1987). El contexto de la actividad también se considera importante, por ejemplo, el aire libre (Rothlein & Brett, 1987) o el suelo suelen considerarse espacios más lúdicos que una mesa o un pupitre en el aula (Howard, 2002; Kahyaoǧlu, 2014).…”