Children's Enjoyment Research Articles

Is there a relationship between primary school children's enjoyment of recess physical activities and health-related quality of life? A cross-sectional exploratory study.

Issue addressed An important strategy for increasing children's physical activity is to enhance children's opportunities for school recess physical activities, yet little is known about the influence of school recess physical activities on children's health-related quality of life (HRQOL). The purpose of the present study was to explore the relationship between Australian primary school children's enjoyment of recess physical activities and HRQOL. Methods The study consisted of children at two Australian primary schools (n=105) aged 8-12 years. The Lunchtime Enjoyment Activity and Play questionnaire was used to measure school children's enjoyment of school recess physical activities. The Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory 4.0 was used to measure children's HRQOL. Researchers applied linear regression modelling in STATA (ver. 13.0) to investigate the relationship between children's enjoyment of school recess physical activities and HRQOL. Results It was discovered that primary school children's enjoyment of more vigorous-type school recess physical activities and playing in a range of weather conditions was associated with children's improved HRQOL. Conclusion The findings from this study suggest that health providers and researchers should consider providing primary school children with opportunities and facilities for more vigorous-intensity school recess physical activities as a key strategy to enhance children's HRQOL. So what? Considering a social-ecological model framework of the key predictors of children's enjoyment of school recess physical activities may provide valuable insight for school health providers into the multiple levels of influence on children's HRQOL when developing school settings and activities for school recess.

The Impact of Family Financial Investment on Perceived Parent Pressure and Child Enjoyment and Commitment in Organized Youth Sport

AbstractNinety percent of American youth participate in some form of organized youth sport between the ages of 5 and 18. Parent involvement in this context has recently been characterized as a potentially harmful force in parent–child relations, leading to debate regarding the appropriateness and level of parent involvement in organized youth sport. Despite the rising costs associated with youth sport participation, little empirical effort has been made to examine the potential impact of family financial investment on parent involvement and children's subsequent sport outcomes. The purpose of this study was to address how family financial investment in youth sport influences children's perceptions of parent pressure, sport enjoyment, and commitment to continued participation. Data from a national sample of 163 parent–child dyads illuminated an inverse association between family financial investment and child sport commitment, mediated by children's perceptions of parent pressure and sport enjoyment. The results indicated that family financial investment predicts child commitment through the sequential mediators of perceived parent pressure and child enjoyment. These findings draw attention to many avenues for future research on the potential link among family investment decisions, parent involvement behaviors, and child outcomes in organized youth sport, which may collectively inform the development of parent interventions for youth sport leagues, administrators, and parents.

Physical Activity Pattern of Malaysian Preschoolers: Environment, Barriers, and Motivators for Active Play.

Children's physical activity has been correlated with child characteristics and social or physical environment. This study aimed to compare preschoolers' physical activity among various sociodemographic characteristics and to determine barriers, motivators, and environmental factors for active play. A total of 835 preschoolers were included in this analysis. Time spent on active play, quiet play, and screen time was reported by parents. Boys spent significantly more time on active play and screen time than girls. Time spent on quiet play was highest in East Coast Peninsular Malaysia and lowest in Sarawak. Some 40% of children achieved active play recommendation while 27% exceeded daily screen time recommendation. Most parents reported that their child played actively in the house area; and that the main barrier and motivator to active play were safety and child's enjoyment, respectively. These findings demonstrate that sociodemographic characteristics and environment should be considered in designing physical activity intervention programs.

Recite, play and pronounce english joyfully with rhymes and chants!

In this article nursery rhymes and chants are described. These are poems which are authentic, and poems which have been composed specifically for the teaching of languages, respectively. They offer many benefits, such as the development of the listening and the speaking skills, insights into Anglophone cultures, and enjoyment for both teacher and children. Nursery rhymes and chants inspire games, handicrafts and acting out, and ideas are given for exploiting them successfully in the Primary classroom.

Physical self-concept and physical activity enjoyment in elementary school children

ABSTRACTThe present study examined gender differences and relationships of seven specific domains of physical self-concept (PSC) (Strength, Endurance, Speed, Flexibility, Coordination, Global Sport Competence, and Appearance) and physical activity enjoyment (PAE) in 447 elementary school children by self-report questionnaires. Boys reported higher self-concepts of Strength, Endurance, Speed, Coordination, and Global Sport Competence than girls. Conversely, girls showed higher self-concepts of Flexibility than boys. Moreover, all seven specific domains of children's PSC and PAE were positively interrelated and children's self-concepts of Endurance and Global Sport Competence predicted their PAE. Implications for physical education targeting to enhance children's PSC and PAE are discussed.

Parental social support, perceived competence and enjoyment in school physical activity

BackgroundBeginning in the elementary school years, there are differences among children on how they perceive their competence in physical activity (PA). Children's competence perceptions may influence their affective reactions to PA. A crucial question is how to motivate children who hold low competence perceptions to enhance their enjoyment and PA involvement. Because parents play critical roles in children's development and socialization, social support from parents can be an important factor to complement teachers' effort to enhance children's enjoyment and PA involvement. In this research we identified the associations among children's beliefs about parental social support, perceived competence, and enjoyment in school PA. MethodsThree hundred and twenty children (9–11 years old) participated in a two-wave study. At the first wave, children completed questionnaires measuring their beliefs about parental social support, perceived competence, and enjoyment in school PA; they reported their enjoyment again 8 months later at the second wave. ResultsBoth concurrent and longitudinal analyses revealed that beliefs about parental social support were important factors associated with children's enjoyment in school PA, especially among girls with low competence perceptions. ConclusionFamily socialization factors should be taken into consideration. The efficacy of individual and community-level strategies should be included and evaluated when designing effective intervention strategies that enhance children's PA in school.

Influência de Publicidades no Comportamento do Consumidor Infantil

Studies have noted the influence of commercials aired by the electronic media consumption behavior of children, especially television. Thus, this work proposes to study the behavior of the child consumer in Brazil, analyzing how the actions of marketing and media may influence the behavior of early consumption of children aged between six and nine years. We used a mixed approach, with the application of an instrument with open and closed questions and multiple choice, about consumer preferences applied to 141 children six to nine years old. It was found that going to the mall and watching television is part of everyday life that the consumer market, the survey also revealed that the most consumed products are toys for children (71.63%), the largest source of product knowledge that arouse desire are the advertisements on television (80.85%) and the infant admiring the appearance of these cartoon television advertisements (36.99%). It appears that the marketing and the media influence the behavior of the child consumer through advertisements on TV, advertisements on Internet and showcase the stores, especially if they are inserted in the malls, once consisting of a tour of great enjoyment for children. Key words: Marketing, Consumer market, Consumer behavior, Child consumer.

The Effect of Parental Involvement on Children's Physical Activity

To assess the amount, intensity, enjoyment, and preference of children's physical activity in a controlled gymnasium setting under 3 experimental, social conditions: alone, with a parent watching, and with a parent participating. Children (n = 10 girls, 10 boys), 3-6 years old, along with 1 parent (n = 17 mothers, 3 fathers) per child participated in each social condition on separate days for 30 minutes in which they could choose from a variety of physical and/or sedentary activities. A greater number of accelerometer counts (P ≤ .02) were accumulated during the parent participating (109,523 ± 32,155 counts) condition than the alone (67,938 ± 37,857 counts) and parent watching (85,624 ± 44,985 counts) conditions. Counts during parent watching were also greater (P = .01) than alone. More time (P ≤ .008) was allocated to sedentary activities during the alone (16.2 ± 9.6 minutes) condition than parent watching (9.6 ± 9.3 minutes) and parent participating (3.8 ± 5.1 minutes). Children liked (P ≤ .02) the parent participating (9.9 ± 0.45 cm) condition more than alone (8.0 ± 2.72 cm) and parent watching (8.7 ± 1.52 cm). A greater (P < .001) proportion of children identified the parent participating (80%) as their preferred condition over either the parent watching (10%) or alone (10%) conditions. Parental participation during physical activity (or at minimum direct supervision) may be an important component in the development of physical activity environments intended to maximize physical activity behavior in children.

Engaging children in activities beyond the classroom walls: a social–ecological exploration of Australian primary school children's enjoyment of school play activities

As children spend a significant amount of time in schools each week, it is vital that playwork practitioners develop an improved awareness relating to the influences on children’s enjoyment of school play activities. The purpose of the present study was to assess children’s enjoyment of school play activities beyond the classroom walls, including the type of play activities children enjoy and age and gender-specific enjoyment levels. Within the study, the Lunchtime Enjoyment of Activity and Play (LEAP) questionnaire was administered to 281 children aged 8-12-years-old attending three primary schools in regional Victoria, Australia. The LEAP questionnaire was used to measure Australian primary school children’s enjoyment of school play activities. In order for age and gender-specific comparisons to be made for the LEAP questionnaire categories, a chi-square statistical test was conducted. The findings revealed that females had a significantly higher enjoyment compared to males for a range of school play activities including walking, using imagination, creating and making things, climbing, hiding, sliding, sitting, resting/relaxing, being active, tag games, changing play activity and playing with more natural features. Males had a significantly higher enjoyment compared to females for playing when it’s hot and using sports equipment. Younger children had significantly higher enjoyment for using imagination, creating and making things, hiding, playing inside and changing play location. With understandings of the types of school play activities that are most enjoyable to children during school play, educators, playwork practitioners and school decision makers can employ the social-ecological model insight gained within the current study to guide future school-based planning and design.

Legal Gender Meets Reality: A Socio-Legal Children's Perspective

ABSTRACTUnder Norwegian law, the registration of children at birth is regarded as the minimum guarantee for their enjoyment of children's rights. But how does the legal gender assigned at registration impact on gender non-conforming children's and adolescents’ experiences? How does the regulation of gender assignment under Norwegian law chime with the human rights of gender non-conforming children, particularly the right to respect for one's private life and non-discrimination? Are there any possibilities for children to change their legal gender? This article gives voice to the experiences, challenges, and wishes of gender non-conforming children. The aim is to show how legal gender intertwines with feelings of recognition, self-confidence, self-respect, and self-esteem.

Diet and identity: being a good parent in the face of contradictions presented by the ketogenic diet.

The ketogenic diet is a high‐fat diet used to treat drug‐resistant childhood epilepsy. Given that negative meanings tend to be attached to fatty foods and children's food consumption is seen to be the responsibility of parents, the ketogenic diet may be problematic for parenting identity. This article draws upon in‐depth semi‐structured interviews with 12 parents from 10 families that have a child whose epilepsy is being treated with the ketogenic diet. The main focus of the article is the meanings these parents attached to foods and how they were drawn upon or altered to overcome some of the contradictions presented by the diet. It will be argued that the diet was medicalised and parents came to view food as medicine. When viewing food in this way, negative associations with fat were reversed. Furthermore, parents also used food as a symbol of inclusion and prioritised portion size or the child's enjoyment of food in order to use food as a symbol of love. In turn this enabled parents to feel they were being good parents. Overall, it seems that diet can be medicalised and the identity of the good parent maintained if dietary treatment is successful.

When writing nonsense makes perfect sense…

Children's enjoyment of poetry will increase as they learn to understand its different forms. Unlock the fun in nonsense poems and encourage pupils to create their own.

Facial Feedback and Social Input: Effects on Laughter and Enjoyment in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders.

Both social input and facial feedback appear to be processed differently by individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We tested the effects of both of these types of input on laughter in children with ASD. Sensitivity to facial feedback was tested in 43 children with ASD, aged 8-14 years, and 43 typically developing children matched for mental age (6-14), in order to examine whether children with ASD use bodily feedback as an implicit source of information. Specifically, children were asked to view cartoons as they normally would (control condition), and while holding a pencil in their mouth forcing their smiling muscles into activation (feedback condition) while rating their enjoyment of the cartoons. The authors also explored the effects of social input in children with ASD by investigating whether the presence of a caregiver or friend (companion condition), or the presence of a laugh track superimposed upon the cartoon (laugh track condition) increased the children's self-rated enjoyment of cartoons or the amount of positive affect they displayed. Results showed that the group with ASD was less affected by all three experimental conditions, but also that group differences seemed to have been driven by one specific symptom of ASD: restricted range of affect. The strong relationship between restricted affect and insensitivity to facial feedback found in this study sheds light on the implications of restricted affect for social development in ASD.

Girls, boys and early reading: parents’ gendered views about literacy and children's attitudes towards reading

This study investigated the relationship between children's attitudes towards reading and their parents’ gendered views about literacy (GVL). It was assumed that parents may have GVL by favouring girls in reading activities, which could limit boys’ enjoyment in reading activities. This study was conducted with 31 five-year-old children in first term at a school in South Australia. To measure children's enjoyment in reading-related activities, each child completed an individually administered Literacy Attitude Scale (LAS). Parents completed a questionnaire about their views on girls’ and boys’ early literacy and their book preferences. It was found that the parents’ GVL were significantly and negatively related to children's attitudes towards reading. Importantly, both male and female children of parents, with highly GVL, exhibited lower attitudes towards reading. Overall, girls reported significantly more positive attitudes towards reading than boys. A weak but notable correlation was found between parents’ perceptions about their children's attitudes towards reading and their children's self-reported reading attitudes.

Middle School‐Aged Child Enjoyment of Food Tastings Predicted Interest in Nutrition Education on Osteoporosis Prevention

NEEDs for Bones (NFB), based on the Health Belief Model, is a 4-lesson osteoporosis-prevention curriculum for 11- to 14-year-olds. This study examined the relationship between enjoyment of food tastings and interest in NFB. NFB was administered by teachers as part of standard practice and evaluated after the fourth lesson using a 21-item survey. Significant clustering of students within classrooms required use of random-intercept multilevel ordinal regression models in SAS proc GLIMMIX, with students nested within classrooms. Analyses considered tasting experience, eating attitudes, sex, grade, and cohort. Students (N = 1619; 50% girls) participated from 85 fourth to eighth grade classrooms (47% sixth grade and 31% seventh grade) in 16 Pennsylvania SNAP-Ed eligible schools over 2 academic years. For all foods tasted, students who did not enjoy the food tasting were less interested in the lesson than students who did enjoy the food tasting (all p < .001); refried beans (odds ratio [OR] = 0.30), soy milk (OR = 0.55), cranapple juice (OR = 0.51), sunflower kernels (OR = 0.48), and Swiss cheese (OR = 0.49). The relationship persisted net of covariates. Enjoyment of food tasting activities can predict interest in nutrition education on osteoporosis prevention, supporting resource allocation and inclusion of food tasting activities in school-age nutrition education.

Ability to be active: exploring children's active play in primary schools

This paper presents findings from an innovative multi-method study which sought to examine the impact of toys and toy substitutes on children's physical activity (PA) levels in two UK primary schools. Accelerometers were used to record the PA levels of 52 Year 3 pupils (aged 7–8 years) during 4 separate 30-minute play sessions and, for comparison, during other periods of the school day (breaks, lunch-times and PE lessons). Qualitative data were generated through observations, field notes and semi-structured focus groups with pupils. The findings suggest that a relatively short session of unstructured active play with toys or toy substitutes can make an important contribution to a child's daily level of PA. Moreover, they reveal that children's enjoyment of play sessions and their creative, physical and social competence are also important influences on their engagement in and with active play. Some implications for policy, practice and future research are discussed.

Exploring the Seasonal Influences on Elementary Schoolchildren's Enjoyment of Physical Activity during School Breaks

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to explore the seasonal influences on elementary school children's enjoyment of physical activity during school breaks. Methods: The Lunchtime Enjoyment of Activity and Play (LEAP) questionnaire and Physical Activity Children's Enjoyment Scale (PACES) were used to measure children's (N = 80) enjoyment of physical activity longitudinally during school breaks over 4 time points. Separate mixed regression models determined whether children's enjoyment differed by sex and over time. Results: Children's enjoyment of physical activity during school breaks was significantly higher in March (autumn in the southern hemisphere) in comparison with time points later in the school year. Conclusions: The findings suggest strategies could be implemented by schools to maintain and enhance children's enjoyment of physical activity during school breaks later in the year.

Why children differ in motivation to learn: Insights from over 13,000 twins from 6 countries

Little is known about why people differ in their levels of academic motivation. This study explored the etiology of individual differences in enjoyment and self-perceived ability for several school subjects in nearly 13,000 twins aged 9–16 from 6 countries. The results showed a striking consistency across ages, school subjects, and cultures. Contrary to common belief, enjoyment of learning and children’s perceptions of their competence were no less heritable than cognitive ability. Genetic factors explained approximately 40% of the variance and all of the observed twins’ similarity in academic motivation. Shared environmental factors, such as home or classroom, did not contribute to the twin’s similarity in academic motivation. Environmental influences stemmed entirely from individual specific experiences.

"I Teach Better with the Puppet" - Use of Puppet as a Mediating Tool in Kindergarten Education – an Evaluation

A focus of interest among researchers and educators is to find teaching methods adjusted to developmental aspects in early childhood. Teaching that generates significant learning and creates motivation, interest and enjoyment in young children is a real challenge in contemporary education. The effectiveness of using puppets in early childhood has been demonstrated in clinical areas as having the potential to create communication, increase involvement and change attitudes. However, there is limited research literature relating to the use of puppets as a teaching method, and therefore a methodology based on measurement and evaluation is lacking in this field. This article presents partial results of a broader study that examined the influence of an intervention program integrating a puppet as a mediation tool on learning motivation, and enhancing literacy achievements in regular and special kindergarten children. One of the aims of this research was to evaluate, from mediators' perspectives, the use of puppets as a mediation tool for kindergarten children. This evaluation was carried out by means of personal interviews with each of the mediators at the end of the intervention program. From the interviews it became apparent that the mediators considered the puppets to be an effective tool for young children's developmental aspects, by means of which they could relate to cognitive, emotional, and social realms. Mediation using puppets facilitated learning processes, while using puppets, children's cooperation level increased, as did interest, attention span and their involvement in learning interaction was evident. The puppets contributed to the mediators' self-confidence and to their sense of professionalism. During the puppets mediation, the mediators felt that they were teaching in a clear manner, and they felt they were being interesting and. interactive. By using puppets, they succeeded in creating a close personal connection with the children. These findings have an applicable contribution in presenting the effectiveness of the puppet as a mediation tool for use in kindergarten and with special needs children.

Children׳s experiences: Enjoyment and fun as additional encouragement for walking to school

This paper argues that highlighting the enjoyment or fun aspects of children׳s experiences can also encourage walking to school. It seeks to identify and understand the neighbourhood attributes contributing to an enjoyable walk to school from the perspectives of children. A group of 178 children (9–11 years old) was drawn from eight government primary schools situated in Sydney metropolitan neighbourhoods. A combination of a written questionnaire, a drawing activity and focus group discussions was employed to understand firstly the nature of children׳s fun while walking to school and secondly, the neighbourhood attributes that can promote such enjoyment. The findings reveal how their interactions with nature, recreational amenities and retail spaces contributed to their enjoyment of playful, sensory, autonomous as well as social types of experiences. In accepting children׳s experiences as fundamental to the understanding of their school journeys, practitioners and academics can thereby research, create and promote environments that directly respond to children׳s needs and interests to walk to school.