Introduction
Evaluating a mixed method approach to solve the puzzle of
children’s play deficit disorder
New Zealanders regard
themselves as outdoor
people. However, there
is limited knowledge of
our children’s actual
outside play experiences.
Outdoor play fosters a
healthy physical, mental
and social development.
But
recent
urban
intensification
and
declining parental license
to explore neighbourhoods
independently
along with competitive
schooling careers has
potentially
reduced
children’s autonomous
play1,2. This ‘play deficit
disorder’ may contribute
to behavioural problems
and a loss of confidence
in playfully exploring
environments. To solve
the puzzle of this disorder
and
to
understand
barriers to a child-friendly
and
sustainable
Auckland in times of
climate change
I applied six different
methods.
This poster assesses the
merit of each method
and
displays
the
advantage of combining
methods, keeping in
mind the time constraints
for the child participant.
References
1Malone,
K. (2007). The bubble-wrap
generation: children growing up in walled
gardens. Environmental Education Research,
13(4), 513 - 527.
2Freeman, C. and P. J. Tranter (2011).
Children and their urban environment:
changing worlds. London, Earthscan.
3Ergler,
C. (2011). "Beyond passive
participation: children as collaborators in
understanding neighbourhood experience "
Graduate Journal of Asia-Pacific Studies 7(2):
78-98.
Christina R. Ergler, School of Environment
Time constraints for child
participant
Legend
GPS points
Low
SPEED in km/h
Medium
High
“I like going to Myers Park. It’s
really close. We take my bike and
me and my dad will ride it. […] You
can go really fast down the hill.
[…] but after the third time it
gets boring. […] It’s always the
same.” (8 year old boy, CBD)
I interviewed children
after the completion of
their drawing and GPS
data
to explore their
experiences.
Interviews with parents
covered constraining and
enabling elements for
being active outside.
I asked my child
participants to fill out
a travel diary, which
covers their daily
movement, how they
feel in places and
their perception of the
weather.
I don’t know if all trips
are covered.
0-1
2-4
5-8
9 - 12
13 - 20
21 - 50
51 - 87
I asked the 20 children
to wear a GPS for 2
weekdays and 2 weekend
days to explore where
and when they play
outdoors (CBD, suburb).
Technical problems, such
as accuracy or battery life,
limit the data.
Parents filled out
a pen and paper survey
covering
demographic
information,
children’s
activity
&
sedentary
habits as well as a family
history of activity. The
data
only
reveals
parental perspective and
silences children.
Triangulation
Children draw a map of all
the places where they like
and dislike to play in their
neighbourhood, but I don’t
know if they visit these
places on a regular basis.
The walkability index
was calculated using combined
measures of street connectivity,
dwelling density, land use mix, and
retail floor area ratio.
I chose two highly walkable
neighbourhoods: precondition
for being active is at
least given.
Conclusion
The
triangulation
of
different
methods
enables me to engage
with and bring meaning
to the complexities of
children’s free play, which
cannot be solely covered
by numerical data. Each
method has advantages
and disadvantages (e.g.
quality of data, duration),
but used in combination
they complement each
other and can be fun for
children3.
However,
multiple methods are
time-demanding for the
researcher, child and
parental participant. I
found that children who
are occupied by adultled
activities
(e.g.
sports or afternoon
programmes) lack free
play
time
outside.
Children with this ‘play
deficit disorder’ miss
out on learning about
themselves,
finding
their place in the world
and being prepared for
the
technological
environment of today.
Consequently,
researchers
should
promote environments
facilitating outdoor play in
their engagement with
planning and policy.
Creating a sustainable
and child - friendly
Auckland:
It’s child’s play.
Acknowledgements
Thanks to Suzanne Mavoa who mapped the
walkability map, my supervisors Karen Witten &
Robin Kearns and the always motivated and
excited participants!