Children's Leisure Research Articles

DEVELOPMENT OF PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION OF CHILDREN'S LEISURE ORGANIZERS IN THE THEORY AND PRACTICE OF PEDAGOGICAL ANIMATION

The article offers a description of the possible content and methods of training specialists in the organization of children's and youth leisure, receiving education at a pedagogical university. The technology for organizing professional training of a teacher as an organizer of children's leisure presented in the article reflects the contextual specificity of such training in professional pedagogical education and is manifested at all levels of implementation of the conceptual model of pedagogical animation. The theoretical principles and conclusions contained in the article can be used for scientific and technological support of the process of training teachers and organizers of children's leisure in the system of higher and postgraduate professional pedagogical education, taking into account regional characteristics and the processes of its modernization.

What are the important factors influencing the physical activity level of junior high school students: a cross-sectional survey.

Engaging in regular physical activity has been consistently linked to improved physical health and academic performance. Despite its known benefits, there is a concerning trend of decreased physical activity among children globally. The study primarily aims to investigate the level of physical activity among junior high school students in Taiyuan and analyse the main affecting factors from a socio-ecological perspective. A cross-sectional study was conducted, involving 650 junior high school students from 7 schools in Taiyuan, and 648 valid questionnaires were ultimately collected. The data on students' physical activity levels were collected through the Children's Leisure Activities Study Survey Questionnaire, and the data on factors affecting students' physical activity were collected through the Student Perceived Factors Affecting Physical Activity Questionnaire. In this study, students from the 7th, 8th, and 9th grades participated in physical activities, averaging 214.500 min per week in moderate-intensity and 25.000 min in high-intensity activities, cumulatively averaging 280.000 min weekly. Notably, a significant disparity (p = 0.012) was observed in the combined duration of moderate and high-intensity activities, with male students engaging more time compared to their female counterparts (307.500 vs. 255.000 min). This variance extended across different grades, particularly evident in 8th graders who recorded the highest weekly high-intensity activity duration (31.000 min) and overall physical activity time (320.500 min), surpassing the 7th graders(p = 0.007 for high-intensity activities). Furthermore, an exploratory factor analysis of a 32-item questionnaire, designed to identify determinants of physical activity, revealed six principal components. These components were found to positively correlate with both moderate and high-intensity physical activities. Results emphasize that educational institutions and community programs should collaborate to offer engaging weekend physical activity programs. Schools should develop and implement tailored physical education curricula addressing gender and grade differences. Furthermore, schools and local governments should invest in high-quality sports equipment and facilities.

Organized physical activity and sedentary behaviors in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder, cerebral palsy, and intellectual disability.

There is little data on physical activity (PA), organized PA (OPA), and sedentary behaviors in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and other neurodevelopmental disorders in developing countries. To examine OPA, non-OPA, and sedentary behaviors and their associated factors in children and adolescents with ASD, cerebral palsy (CP), and intellectual disability (ID). A total of 1020 children and adolescents with ASD, CP, and ID were assessed regarding the child and family information as well as the Children's Leisure Activities Study Survey. The results showed that the OPA level was significantly lower than non-OPA in all groups. Furthermore, the OPA level was significantly lower in the CP group compared to ASD and ID groups (P < 0.001). Also, moderate (P < 0.001), vigorous (P < 0.05), and total (P < 0.001) physical activity levels were significantly different between all three groups, with the values being higher in the ASD group compared to the other two. The mean of the total sedentary behavior duration in the ASD group (1819.4 min/week, SD: 1680) was significantly lower than in the CP group (2687 min/week, SD: 2673) (P = 0.007) but not ID group (2176 min/week, SD: 2168.9) (P = 0.525). Our findings remark on the participation rate of PA, OPA, and sedentary behaviors of children and adolescents with ASD, CP, and ID in a developing country. In contrast, the need for developing standards of PA/OPA participation in neurodevelopmental disorders is discussed.

The impact of parents' physical activity goals and parental attitudes on physical activity during leisure time among children in middle childhood.

Parents' supportiveness and health-promoting habits significantly affect the intensity of children's physical activity (PA) and the involvement of parents in their engagement in PA; in this domain, both the hours devoted to PA and PA goals can be assessed. The family plays an important role in shaping the physical and social organization of the environment for children aged 4-6 years. A total of 680 families with 5-year-old children (330 girls, 350 boys) took part in the study. Data were collected from these participants, who were recruited from preschools and primary schools in the Pomeranian region of Poland. The aim of this study was to determine whether the involvement of parents in PA mediates the influence of parental attitudes on the ways in which their children spend their leisure time. The results showed that not all parental attitudes had direct impact on children's leisure time in PA and outside PA. Other aspects parental attitude had no significant impact on offspring's free time. Among fathers, only four aspects of parental attitude (namely, acceptance-rejection, inconsistency, autonomy, and overprotectiveness) had an impact on PA goals. Mothers' goals were influenced by the strength of a larger number of aspects of attitude (namely, acceptance-rejection, autonomy, inconsistency, over-demandingness, and overprotectiveness). Similarly, the strength of mothers' and fathers' acceptance-rejection attitudes, attitudes of autonomy, and overprotectiveness had an impact on their PA goals but were not directly linked to their children's leisure-time engagement in PA. Not all parental attitudes have a direct impact on children's PA or non-PA leisure time. However, the goals of PA parents have been recognized influence the leisure time of children in PA and outside PA. The most statistically significant relationship for both mothers and fathers was between parental attitudes and PA goals. Parental attitudes do not play a significant role in explaining involvement in PA or lack of it in leisure time among 5-year-old children.

Current Parents and Children's Leisure Time

This paper presents research focused on investigating contemporary parents and selected aspects of their influence on children's leisure time, emphasizing how and to what extent parents organize their children's leisure time. Parents from different regions of Slovakia participated in the research, and we processed the results using descriptive statistics. For comparison, we used the Student T-test, Mann-Whitney Test (for comparing two groups), and Kruskal-Wallis Test (for comparing three or more groups). The research showed that respondents judge current parenting as different and significantly more challenging compared to the past. They perceive differences in the sphere of leisure time of families, especially in the fact that parents give fewer responsibilities to children than the previous generation of parents. The research also shows that the problem of contemporary families is the absence of time spent together by parents and children, the absence of family communication, and the high level of organization of children's leisure time by parents. The authors point out that parents in a postmodern society have to deal with the difficulties of ensuring the family's economic stability, which is why two-career marriages are a reality in contemporary families. It has been proven that today's parents are busier with work and are more engaged outside the family, as a result of which they spend less time with their children, which negatively affects their upbringing, there is a lack of quality family communication, and children feel lonely and deprived of parental attention. It was also found that in the modern family, students are involved in housework much less than in the past, so they mostly have no experience of work in this aspect. It is emphasized that the compensation of parental influence with other means of education - media, technology (smartphones, tablets, computers), and the virtual world (social networks) is alarming. The decline in the development of reading interests in the family is outlined, and the tendency of parents to replace the joint reading of children's books with modern technologies is revealed.

FAMILY AND LEISURE: PARENTS’ VIEWS ON THEIR CHILDREN’S LEISURE TIME AND THEIR ROLE IN IT

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the views of parents on issues of managing their children's leisure time, and in particular, to investigate the participation of parents themselves in the leisure time of their children. According to the results of the research, the organization and planning of children's leisure are based on two main principles. The first concerns the involvement of children in creative activities that offer them pleasure and the second principle concerns investing in activities that will strengthen their educational capital. Parents seek to create a supportive environment that encourages the effective use of free time in a variety of ways. As a framework for family interaction, the family's free time includes daily activities, sports interests, and also outings and excursions. Our research has shown that parents spend most of their personal free time on family responsibilities and the degree of their participation varies according to the age group and gender of the parent. However, mothers and fathers with the highest level of education, parents aged 20-40 and parents with children in lower school classes participate more in the children's free time.&lt;p&gt; &lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt; Article visualizations:&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0322/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

Perceptions and desires of Chinese senior outbound tourists receiving travel support from adult children: a qualitative study

PurposeThis qualitative study explores how Chinese senior outbound tourists perceive support from their adult children and what kinds of support they desire.Design/methodology/approachQualitative data were collected from semi-structured interviews with 26 participants. Transcribed interviews were analysed via thematic analysis.FindingsThis study captured the contradictory feelings of different types of Chinese senior outbound tourists (i.e. independent, neutral, and dependent) according to the degree of desire for support from their adult children. The results further identified the real desires among Chinese senior outbound tourists for children's attitudinal support, caring support, appropriate financial support, companionship, and timing support.Research limitations/implicationsSince this qualitative research is based on small samples with typical social and cultural characteristics, our research results only describe an existence. Our findings provide insight into the existence of the phenomenon, rather than allowing the results to be generalized to the wider population (Gram et al., 2019).Practical implicationsThe tourism industry could develop products to alleviate such feelings. Integrating the concept of filial piety into adult children's support for their parents' overseas travel can not only meet parents' expectations but also relieve parents' ambivalence. Destination operators and travel agencies could thus design mixed products targeting Chinese elderly parents and their adult children by providing activities for both generations. Purchasing behaviour represents a type of emotional and instrumental support for the elderly. Destination operators and travel agencies can also launch products suitable for in-depth outbound travel that cater to adult children's leisure travel while meeting the elderly's travel needs.Originality/valueThis study also extends both intergenerational support theory and intergenerational ambivalence theory regarding Chinese senior outbound tourists.

FORMATION OF RECREATIONAL TERRITORIES FOR CHILDREN IN THE URBANIZED ENVIRONMENT

The article analyzes the conditions for the formation of recreation for children in the structure of an urbanized environment. In the conditions of large cities and metropolitan areas, specialists are faced with the acute issue of creating and shaping a comfortable and safe recreational environment for children. The article explores the main factors that have a decisive influence on the formation of a comfortable environment for organizing children's leisure. The problems of creating recreational areas for children in an urbanized environment are constantly considered by many specialists, including urban planners, psychologists, teachers and others. The article discusses domestic and foreign experience in the creation, operation and development of recreational areas for children in different periods of the development of society, the main tasks of children's leisure and recreation in general.&#x0D; The modern system of children's recreation, the typology of its objects and elements are analyzed, considering the current standards. In European countries, as well as in Ukraine, the organization of children's recreation is supported by the state and the legislative framework, but the conditions for its formation are milder in comparison with Ukraine. When designing children's recreation in Europe, the state of the urban environment, the unity of space, the overall design and safety issues are necessarily considered, and the child is taught to be careful and competently assess the current situation. In Ukraine, they adhere to the principle – the more sites, the better.

Screen Time and Mental Health Among Adolescents: Implications of the Rise in Digital Environment in South Africa.

The rise in use of digital technology among adolescents is unquestionable, with few studies having explored the effect of screen time on mental or behavior challenges in sub-Saharan Africa. We investigated the extent of screen time and its associations with mental/behavior challenges in South Africa. A multisite study was conducted among adolescents aged 15 to 17 years from three government schools in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. Measures included depressive symptoms (using Patient Health Questionnaire-9), behavioral problems (using Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire), and screen time (using Children's Leisure Activities Study Survey). The prevalence of severe depressive symptoms, conduct features, and negative prosocial behavior was 11.2% (n = 20), 13.6% (n = 25), and 4.9% (n = 9), respectively. The mean screen time was 2.1 h/d (SD = 2.4) during weekday and 4.7 h/d (SD = 5.5) during weekend. Weekend screen time was significantly associated with a greater likelihood of severe depression and conduct challenges, based on multivariable regression. We also found that greater weekend cell phone use was significantly associated with lower prosocial behavior. No role of weekday screen time was detected in this study. Parents or legal guardians need to be aware of their children's weekend screen time, including cell phones, as access to digital devices becomes more ubiquitous in resource-limited settings.

Physical activity levels of children and adolescents with intellectual disabilities in Northern China.

Limited research has looked at the physical activity (PA) among Chinese children and adolescents with intellectual disabilities. The Children's Leisure Activities Study Survey-Chinese version was applied in evaluating PA levels among children and adolescents with intellectual disabilities. The data indicated that only 29.5% of children and adolescents with intellectual disabilities met the PA recommendation. Boys engaged in significantly more MVPA and had higher energy expenditure than girls during weekdays and the whole week. The general trend in PA levels demonstrated a downtrend with the growth of age of children and adolescents with intellectual disabilities. The students aged 6-12 years old performed more MVPA and had greater energy expenditure compared with those 13-15 and 16-18 years old. The level of PA among Chinese children and youths with intellectual disabilities is remarkably low, and there is a large gap compared with the PA recommendation.

“I Say I Work at the University:” Norwegian Professors and Passing as Interaction Ritual

This paper extends the study of passing to a privileged identity. From qualitative interviews, we examine Norwegian professors' everyday self‐presentation. When in new encounters, like meeting other parents through their children's leisure activities, our respondents' leave their occupation and especially title undisclosed before cautiously negotiating possible disclosure. The existing literature mostly highlights passing that happens for self‐protection. While (soft) self‐protection is one concern for professors, they also pass for additional reasons: protecting interactants from insecurity or discomfort and preventing imbalance and “fuss.” Theoretically, we combine Goffman's treatise of passing with interaction ritual and facework. We discuss whether this analytical model may also help clarify instances of stigma passing and consider the consequences of privilege passing for social inequality.

Some features interrogation of minor victim on the fact of negligence in the field of children's leisure

Some features interrogation of minor victim on the fact of negligence in the field of children's leisure

Pester power- The most powerful weapon of kids

The internets have taken up the majority of children's leisure time, drastically altering their media habits. Even the dinner table, where parents used to instill many positive values and wholesome ideas in their children, has been supplanted with watching television. Children today are so technologically aware that they practically know how everything works on the internet, and their browsing habits expose them to more of these sites and products around the world that they may then demand from their parents. Children's growing consumerism is blamed for the emergence of Pester Power. Due to the deluge of new TV (television) content, this trend has emerged. Nowadays, almost all marketers seek to promote their goods directly to the young target audience. The composition of Indian families has shifted from joint families to nuclear or extended families as a result of influences from the west. Indian consumerism has been greatly influenced by exposure to the globalised world and changing family dynamics. Kids are ruling the consumer market as three distinct segments are represented by them. The research aims to study the influence of cartoon character, celebrity endorsement on child’ pester power. The study also proves that there is positive relationship between humour in advertisements with child buying behaviour.

The role and function of physical and sports organizations in providing leisure activities for children and youth

The system of out-of-school education unites forms of the organization of leisure activity of children and youth. The main goals of their work are to strengthen health, increase the level of physical fitness, ensure active recreation of students and get pleasure from physical activity. Physical education of children and youth out-of-school is united by science and sports organizations with the involvement of members of the public. Physical culture and sports organizations play an important role in ensuring physical culture and health activities and physical activity, meaningful leisure, healthy lifestyle of children and youth of our country. The article identifies the main types of out-of-school educational institutions and the socio-pedagogical significance of physical culture and health work in them, the tasks of physical culture and health work in extracurricular time, presents a set of measures aimed at improving children's leisure activities. There are sports events, thematic lectures, control over the passage of personnel training courses advertising campaigns, sports and mass holidays, free introductory classes, information updates on official websites, meetings, conversations with sponsors and parents. Provided information namely purpose, objectives and quantitative indicators of activity, about the activities of the sports and health centre «Goloseyevo». Prospects for further research are to determine the areas of activity to involve children in extracurricular sports centers.

PREPARATION OF THE CIRCUIT LEADER TO TEACH STUDENTS IN TECHNICAL MODELING

The rapid pace of transformation in the society of Ukraine and the world, the process of its integration into the educational space of Europe contributed to increasing the focus on the quality of children's leisure, the need to review and improve the legal framework for out-of-school education. The article analyzes the features of teaching pupils of technical modeling and professional training of future teachers to activities in out-of-school education institutions. The purpose of the article is to analyze the specifics of teaching pupils technical modeling in out-of-school educational institutions that have scientific and technical direction, and substantiation of scientific and methodological foundations and features of training teachers of labor training and technology for professional activities in out-of-school education.&#x0D; Peculiarities of preparation of future teachers of labor education and technologies for teaching puiples in the conditions of out-of-school education institutions are considered. On the basis of the analysis of scientific and methodical literature the concept training of future teachers of labor training and technologies for professional activity on training of pupils of technical modeling in establishments of out-of-school education which have a scientific and technical direction is defined. Emphasis is placed on the priority of the motivational component in the process of implementing the competence approach of the educational system in the training of both future teachers and pupils.&#x0D; Аspects of construction of structural-semantic model are characterized training of future teachers of labor education and technologies for professional activity in out-of-school education institutions. The organizational and pedagogical conditions of effective student learning are determined. The necessity of forming in students the skills of integration of branch knowledge and combination of educational methods, technologies of organization of classes during the practice of teaching technical modeling in the process of classes in out-of-school education institutions is substantiated.

Physical activity and sedentary behaviour among children and adolescents with intellectual disabilities during the COVID-19 lockdown in China.

BackgroundIn the wake of the COVID‐19 pandemic, preliminary research has reported a significant decline in physical activity (PA) and an increase in sedentary behaviour (SB) among typically developed children and adolescents. Limited research has looked at the current situation of PA and SB during this pandemic among children and adolescents with intellectual disabilities (ID). This study investigated the situations about PA and SB among school‐aged children and adolescents with ID on China's mainland during the COVID‐19 outbreak.MethodsIn total, 837 parents of children and adolescents (ages 6–18 years) with ID from 15 special education schools of Shandong Province in China were recruited through convenience sampling in the study. Parents reported PA and SB among children and adolescents with ID through the Children's Leisure Activities Study Survey‐Chinese version (CLASS‐C) online questionnaires.ResultsFrom parents' reports, Chinese children and adolescents with ID during the COVID‐19 pandemic participated in approximately 10 min of moderate‐to‐vigorous physical activity, and engaged in approximately 530 min of SB every day. Meanwhile, only 17.4% of children and adolescents with ID were able to achieve the recommendation of 60 min of daily moderate‐to‐vigorous physical activity and 76.1% of children and adolescents with ID spent more than 2 h on SB per day. Additionally, the problems of decrease PA and excessive SB were more prominent in older adolescents with ID compared with younger children with ID.ConclusionIn China, the low level of PA and high level of SB is particularly evident in children and adolescents with ID during the outbreak of COVID‐19. The great majority of children and adolescents with ID did not meet the recommended amount of PA while undergoing excessive SB under the long‐term home quarantine environment. Therefore, immediate attention and great effort should be made to deal with this severe situation among this vulnerable population in the mainland of China.

Impact of Emotional Regulation and Social Skills on Participation in Leisure for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

Abstract Date Presented 04/6/21 Recreation and leisure participation are important for physical and mental well-being. Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) demonstrate lower well-being. This study examined the impact of emotional regulation and social skills on participation in leisure in a large dataset. Results indicated a significant relationship between these factors. This suggests important OT intervention targets for children with ASD to improve mental and physical well-being. Primary Author and Speaker: Karen Ratcliff Additional Authors and Speakers: Abigail Bradfield, Jessica Schmidt, Maxwell Toepfer, Helen Matsoff, Allison M. Yingst, Kristen Pickett, Kecia Doyle, and Paul Mross

No association between maternal exercise during pregnancy and the child's weight status at age 7 years: The MoBa study.

Maternal lifestyle during pregnancy may affect the development of overweight and obesity in the child. We examined whether maternal exercise during pregnancy is associated with offspring overweight and obesity in childhood. A secondary aim was to examine whether the association is affected by the child's physical activity level. This study is based on data from the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study (MoBa), including 44 352 pregnancies and children (n=32 304 in week 17 and n=32 419 in week 30 in the final adjusted model). Maternal exercise during pregnancy was self-reported in gestational weeks 17 and 30. We conducted linear and logistic regression separately for girls and boys, and outcomes were the child's body mass index (BMI) and weight status (overweight/obese) at age 7years. We further examined the additive joint association between maternal exercise during pregnancy and the child's leisure time physical activity on weight status at age 7years. In total, 12.4% of the children were classified as overweight or obese, and 1.7% as obese. The results suggest no association between maternal exercise in both gestational weeks 17 and 30 and the weight status of the child at age 7years. The association between maternal exercise and the child's weight status at age 7years appears not to be affected by the child's physical activity level. Maternal exercise level during pregnancy does not appear to be associated with the child's BMI or odds of being overweight or obese in childhood.

The role of large industrial enterprises in the everyday life of Sevastopol in the 1980s (on the example of the Sevastopol instrument-making plant "Parus").

The subject of the study is the role of large industrial enterprises in the daily life of Sevastopol in the early 1980s on the example of the Sevastopol instrument-making plant "Parus", since 1980 renamed the Sevastopol instrument-making plant named after V.I. Lenin. The authors motivate the choice of this enterprise as an example and object of research by the fact that the plant was one of the most significant enterprises both for Sevastopol and for the entire instrument-making industry of the Soviet Union. Based on archival sources, the authors consider in detail the specific episodes of the plant's activities that influenced the lives of citizens and the appearance of the city. In particular, the article discusses the activities of the plant for the construction and commissioning of residential buildings and infrastructure facilities, the organization of children's leisure. In addition, the authors tell about the activities of the enterprise itself to improve the working conditions of workers, as well as about the work of the Komsomol organization. The authors come to the conclusion that the instrument-making plant "Parus" played a significant role in the life of Sevastopol, especially one of the districts of the city - the Northern side: the enterprise developed and demonstrated success, created new jobs, expanding the range of products, and improved working conditions. Thanks to the plant, new residential buildings (apartment buildings and dormitories), kindergartens, shops, a library, and infrastructure facilities were built. Most of these buildings on the North Side of Sevastopol exist and are still used for their intended purpose. Also, the authors, relying on archival sources and, above all, reports of office documentation, state that much attention was paid to children's leisure, health improvement and education.

PEDAGOGICAL CONDITIONS OF FORMATION OF READINESS OF FUTURE TEACHERS FOR THE ORGANIZATION OF LEISURE OF YOUNGER SCHOOLBOYS

Readiness for the organization and creative realization of leisure activities of junior schoolchildren is one of the components of professional competence of the future primary school teacher. Therefore, the problem of finding ways to optimize the professional training of future teachers in the context of organizing children's leisure is extremely relevant. The purpose of the article is to determine the pedagogical conditions for the formation of the readiness of the future primary school teacher to organize leisure activities for junior students. The article reveals the content of the concept of "pedagogical condition" and describes such pedagogical conditions for the formation of future teachers' readiness to organize children's leisure, as: purposeful positive motivation of students in the innovative environment of higher education to master the competencies of leisure activities; updating (modernization) of the content of professional training of students for the organization of leisure of primary school students; application of interactive and integrated artistic and pedagogical technologies aimed at forming students' readiness to organize leisure for junior schoolchildren; integration of management and self-management of the subjects of the system of professional training of future primary school teachers to the organization of leisure activities of students. The article emphasizes that these pedagogical conditions are interdependent and complementary and only their combination will ensure the effectiveness of professional training of future teachers, his professionalism and skill. Further research is needed to develop a mechanism for implementing certain pedagogical conditions for the formation of the readiness of future primary school teachers to organize leisure activities for junior students and its content and procedural content.