“Grannie's got to go fishing”: meanings and experiences of family leisure for three-generation families in rural and urban settings

Abstract

The purpose of this interpretive study was to explore how the sociospatial context in Canada (rural vs. urban) shaped the perspectives, meanings and experiences of family leisure for three-generation families (grandparents, parents and adult grandchildren). Sixteen family triads were interviewed about their experience of family leisure. Specifically, rural and urban families were compared to understand similarities and differences in their experiences. Family leisure, although not without its challenges, was found to play a central role in the development of close family bonds. Findings are examined within the context of Bronfenbrenner's ecological theory, Shaw and Dawson's theory of purposive leisure and Rye's conceptualization of the rural idyll and suggest that both rural and urban families value the rural context in the development of family cohesion and the intergenerational transmission of values.