Parents' Cross-Cultural Reflections on Their Children's Outdoor Play and Independent Mobility

• In Event: AERA Poster Session 9
  In Poster Session: Early Childhood Education Partners

Abstract

Although there are many resources which inform families about the benefits of physical activity for children and advocate for more time for outdoor play, the trend in the US is to allow children less unstructured outdoor play. This has resulted in reduced freedom for outdoor play for children, including fewer chances to make choices about their play or to use independent mobility to navigate their neighborhoods. Previous research has described how different cultures think about play and its purposes for children. This phenomenological study attempts to illuminate parents’ experiences with outdoor freedom by reflecting on their children’s activities while living in countries outside the US. In this way, parental practices regarding children’s outdoor freedom may be understood from cross-cultural perspectives.

Author

• Kate Puckett, Eastern Oregon University