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Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences 82 (2013) 7 11

World Conference on Psychology and Sociology 2012

What the Preschool Children Prefer: Computer, TV or Dynamic, Outdoor Activities?!

Daciana Lupu a *, Mariana Norel a, Andreea Ramona
a

Transilvania University of Brasov, B-dul Eroilor, nr. 29, Brasov, Romania

Abstract Activities of children in their spare time are essential in the formation and development for the future life of a teenager, then as adult. The research aims to investigate the ways preschool children spent leisure, either alone or with their parents. Research objectives focused on identifying and analyzing the favorite preschool leisure activities and investigate the involvement of parents in children's leisure. The opinions of 162 parents of preschool children (three to seven years old) were evaluated. The study highlights various types of activities, most of them negotiated with the children. Although children prefer outdoor activities, it seems that they actually spend more time on static, in-door activities.
2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and peer review under the responsibility of Prof. Dr. Kobus Maree, University of Pretoria, South Africa.

Selection and peer review under the responsibility of Prof. Dr. Kobus Maree, University of Pretoria, South Africa. Keywords: Preschool Children, Preschool Children Parents, Spare Time, Spare Time Activities, Static Spare Time Activities, Dynamic Spare Time Activities;

1. Introduction Leisure or spare time, named by the ancient Greeks schole, can a be seen as "rest, recreation" (Collins Australian Pocket English Dictionary) or "time for its own"(Webster's Third New International Dictionary). Literature presents several ways in which spare time is defined: as activity, as game, as recreation (Godbey, 1994), as mood and quality of life (Harper, 1997; Isao-Ahola & Mannell, 2004; Roberts, 2006). Spare time describes several functions: rest (relaxation, release fatigue), fun, personality development (Dumazedier, 1974), educational - learning an active and healthy lifestyle, learning about moral values (Veal, 1992; Siegenthaler & Gonzalez, 1997; Henderson & Bialeschki, 2007; Shaw & Dawson, 2010). School time for the preschool children attending kindergarten (time spent kindergarten) is the time for the care activities. They also have spare time after these activities (Guryan, Hurst, & Kearney, 2008). Spare time varies from child to child depending on age, gender, personality, activity rhythm, family, (Bryant, 1996; Larson & Verma, 1999; Sayer, Bianchi, & Robinson, 2004). Factors influencing election of spare time activities are joy and freedom of choice (Shaw,

* Corresponding author: Lupu Daciana. Tel.: +40 268-416185; Fax: +40 268-416184 E-mail address: dacianalupu@yahoo.com

1877-0428 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. Selection and peer review under the responsibility of Prof. Dr. Kobus Maree, University of Pretoria, South Africa. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.06.217

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2009). Bianchi (2000), Sayer, Bianchi, and Robinson (2004), Aguiar, Hurst (2007) and Ramey, Ramey (2007) argue that adults today spend more time with their children than in the past. There are some observations on parents working schedule, as follows: working in shifts parents have less free time to spend together with their children than parents who have the same work schedule daily (Volger, Ernst, Nachreiner, & parents who do not work do not spend more hours with their children compared to parents who have a job (Bianchi, 2000; Zick & Bryant, 1996; Gauthier, Smeeding, & Furstenberg, 2004; Sayer, Bianchi, & Robinson, 2004). Mothers spend more time careing for children while fathers spend more time in learning activities and games activities (Bryant & Zick, 1993; Pleck, 1997; Shaw, 2009). Spare time activities, according to Aguiar and Hurst (2007), aim: watching TV, games with friends and family, talking on the phone / Internet, playground activities, attending social / sports events, reading, watching movies / theater, listening to music, playing computer games, playing an instrument and so on. Guys prefer: sports (football, basketball, cycling), video games, watching television, and girls prefer: cycling, watching TV, dancing, reading (Harrell, Gansky, Bradley, & McMurray, 1997; & Sage, 2010). Boys are more active than girls (Tucker, 2008). Previous generations of children spent more time practicing active activities carried out-door (Clements, 2007; Pergams & Zaradic, 2008; Gubbels et al., 2011). eginning of the 21st century no longer play outside as much, has a much narrower range of outdoor activities, a smaller area to move freely, fewer playmate from different backgrounds and more constraints imposed by adults (Karsten, 2007; Wridt, 2007). Children's ability to play outside is currently limited for safety reasons invoked by parents. Parental concern relates to road safety (Timperio, Crawford, Telford, & Salmon, 2004; Carver, Timperio, & Crawford, 2008; Handy, Cao, & Mokhtarian, 2008), to neighbors that might mind if kids were making noise outside (Gleave, 2010), to crime, to strangers (Wridt, 2004). Singer, Singer, D'Agostino and DeLong (2009) reported that the most common activity performed by children (aged 1-16 years) is watching TV, followed by playing outdoors. Outdoor play is an activity that kids enjoy most and little ones would rather play outside than inside, parents declare. However, children investigate reported spending more time on computer activities and / or TV in comparison to the time spent outdoors (Hofferth & Sandberg, 2001; Anderson, Economos, & Must, 2008; Wen, Kite, Merom, & Rissel, 2009; Taylor, Murdoch, Book, Gerrard, William, &Taylor, 2009; Sisson, Broyles, Baker, & Katzmarzyk, 2010). Parents and children spending together spare time depends on parents support and assurance for safe and enjoyable opportunities for preschoolers to be active (Heitzler, Martin, Duke, & Huhman, 2006; Brown et al., 2009), neighborhood social cohesion (Aarts, Wendel-Vos, van Oers, van de Goor, & Schule, 2010), quality parks (Loukaitou-Sideris & Sideris, 2010), attractiveness of outdoor activities (Goldenberg, Wassenberg, Greenwood, Hendricks, Jacobs, & Cummings, 2010). 2. Purpose of study Research objectives focus on identifying and analyzing the favorite leisure activities of preschoolers. Another focus of research aimed to investigate the level of involvement of parents in their preschool children's leisure. Research hypotheses: 1.Assume that preschool parents prefer to spend their spare time by static activities (watching TV, computer games) at the expense of dynamic activities (motion games, outdoor activities, and so on). 2. Despite children's preferences for leisure, we assume that parents prefer to "occupy" preschool children leisure with other people (mentors for dance courses, foreign languages, coaches and others). 3. Assume that have a greater openness to sports than artistic activities. 3. Methods The target group of the survey consisted of 162 parents of preschool children attending kindergarten (from 4 kindergartens with 4 and 8 ours and from all levels). In the research, the main method used was survey based on questionnaire. The questionnaire was elaborated and validated especially for this purpose (Alpha Cronbach

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=0,893). It investigates the possibilities and ways of spending spare time by preschool children and children together with their parents on four categories: information about the child's life, information about spare time opportunities, information about child time and identification data. Lot of research included 162 parents of preschoolers. Of these 79.6% were females and the remaining 20.4% were male. In terms of marital status: 91.4% parents say they are married, 4.3%, are unmarried, 3.1% parents are divorced and 1.2% are widowed. Most parents (41.4%) have children in small groups (3-4 years old), 33.3% children in the middle group (4-5 years old) and the remainder, 25.4% were parents of children in the groups (5-7 years old). Most parents, 58% have one child, 38.3% have two, 3.1% have three children and only 0.6% has more than three children. Regarding income, 36.4% said that the family's monthly income is around 400 Euro, 25.9% parents income is over 400 Euro, 19.1% parents have income of 350 Euro, each 4.9% claim to have 200 Euro and 300 Euro and the remaining 3.7% parents claim to have an income of 250 Euro. 4. Findings and results Hypothesis 1. Parents prefer to leave the children outdoor and outside children play with other children (87% of them often and very often). It is an activity that holds the first place, is an activity that brings great benefits to the child and the actual degree of involvement than the parent. It is an activity that consumes children energy, it leads them outdoors but the parent involvement is often reduced resumed to child supervision often. Parents feel comfortable spending time outdoors reconciled with the need to move children felt at that age. Activity immediately following ranks: walk in the park is chosen of 85.8% of parents (often and very often), the percentages are almost equal. It is an activity aimed at all leisure in nature, but even this does not have a high degree of involvement from parents. With the work placed on the first position, it has a high degree of parental involvement, parents and making them move, giving them-selves model desirable behaviors. Only in third place, is an activity that requires dynamism and involvement from parents: to play different games with the child. Percentage of parents engaged in this activity decreases by about 5 percent, by 80.9% parents. Still follows other two activities: reading stories, poems, writings, so on, for children. Performed by 72.2% of parents often and very often and watching various TV programs carried out by 47.3% of parents often and very often. The first activity is static but requires high parental involvement which cannot be said about the second activity, although 74.1% of parents say always and often stay with child when he looks on TV. And 61.7% subjects say they watch with your child and discuss it. Sports activities are carried out only by 32.7% parents with their children (often and very often). The percentage is small compared to other activities and especially children need to acquire a healthy lifestyle. An encouraging aspect is the placement of one of the last places to work: play on the computer (22.3% of parents choose as often and frequently). Not as pleasing is the last job placement activities as: going to the theater, opera for children (23.5% of parents choose as often and very often), go to different cultural and artistic activities (21% between parents choose as often and very often) and go to museums, sightseeing (22% of parents choose as often and very often). One questionnaire item sought how often parents with their children activities. Processed data shows that most parents accompanying their children outdoors in park (88.3% often and very often), then place in the home entertainment activities (76.4%% often and very often) and viewing different cartoons on TV (68.6% often and very often). Here it is confirmed that prior to this: parents prefer to go with children in outdoor activities in the park and conduct fun activities at home or watching TV rather than engage in sports activities (32.7% often and very often) in watching theater / opera for children (32.1% often and very often). Hypothesis 2.Very interesting is what parents say about the people that attended the preschool leisure. Other people (grandparents, nannies, and so on) than parents oversee children especially when they watch TV (49.5% several times / week and weekly) and when conducting various fun activities at home (49, 1% several times / week and weekly). Only a percentage of 40.1% of parents say that other people accompanying children to the park activities, the outdoors. Others rather than parents oversee children in period following that in which the

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child comes to kindergarten. Most parents prefer to spend their leisure time outdoors (88.3% often and very often) to go to different sports, cultural, arts, theater / opera for children. Unfortunate is that activity which is central to both parents (68.6% often and very often) and for others who live with children (49.4% several times / week and weekly) is the viewing cartoons on TV. Hypothesis 3. 46.91% practice a sport and only 12.96% practice a second sports twice / week most of the children (27.2%), once / week - 11.1%, three times / week - only 3.1% and 1.9% five times / week. The swimming is practice by many children (17.9%), 11.7% football practice, 6.8% practice sports dances, the remaining 16.2% practice handball, basketball, karate, tennis, model plane enthusiasts, hockey, skiing, skating, gymnastics. Boys in sport 54.05% like: soccer (21.6%), swimming (16.2%), karate (6.8%), dance sport (2.7%) and basketball (1.4%). Only 8.1% artistic activities like painting, drawing (5.4%), and ballet musical instrument (1.4% each). Girls in a number higher than boys turn to artistic activities, 15.9% artistic activities like painting, drawing (10.2%), musical instrument and ballet ( 3.4% each) and modeling in clay and chorus (1.1% each). Percentage of girls in sport is lower than that of boys (42.04%). Girls like boys in sport: swimming (19.3%), dance sport (10.2%), soccer (3.4%), karate and tennis (2.3%) and basketball, handball, ice skating, gymnastics (1.1% each). If we refer to a second sport the children, all boys are placed in a high percentage compared to girls, 18.9% versus 7.9% girls. However the percentage is lower for children in sport, but the percentage of children engaged in artistic activities (drawing, painting, ballet, modeling, choir, musical instrument etc.) Is very low, only 12.3%. It is a reality that must be reflected a reality that requires urgent action to form a healthy and balanced lifestyle. When referring to the three groups of children, children in large group (5-7 years) in sport at a rate of 63.4%, those in the middle group (4-5 years) at a rate of 46, 2% and the small group (4-5 years) at a rate of 37.3%. The age of children increases the more they practice in more sporting activities. The same is true for the practice of artistic activities, with little mention. Thus, all large groups of children performing most artistic activities (24.3%), the small group they are, at a rate of 8.9% and the middle groups, carries the lowest percentage: 7, 4% artistic activities. On leisure, most parents when asked what a child's free time, I believe that it refers to 5-6 hours daily (59.3%). However, for many parents the child spare time spare time coincides with the parents, i.e. daily plus weekends plus holidays: 14.8% parents or only the weekend 10.5% or end of week plus holidays 5.6% or daily plus weekends 4.3%, or just holidays: 4.3%. There were 2.5% who said that free time is 2-3 hours daily child and 1.2% who did not know what to say. Distribution of this free time as expected is different for weekdays to weekend days. Thus, parents spend 5-7 hours or more than 7 hours with their children in day weekend: 78.3% of parents from 14.8% parents who say they spend more than 5 hours / day with their children as time off during the week. If day weekend for most parents (39.5%) spend 5-7 hours / day with their children during the week because of work and other activities, most of the parents spend with children only 2-3 hours / day (30.8%). We note that there is a positive correlation .477 (p< - 0.01) between free time during the week and during the weekends free. 5. Conclusions Parents with children may be carried out in various activities. Ideally, these activities should be subject to negotiations between children and parents. Investigated population, only 40% of parents (65 parents of the 162) argue that negotiating leisure program: always, often and often. Many parents, 28.4% only sometimes parents do this and 5.6% rarely. There are many parents who do this rarely, 6.8% and more stating that I never do (16%). Only 1.9% says they do not know what negotiation is. If we look compared three groups of children, parents notice those small groups are those who hold the highest percentage (47.7% often, very often, and always) they negotiate time off program, compared to a rate of 37%, 31.7% respectively for the medium group parents, or large group. Most parents who say they never negotiate time off program are those from large group (19.5%), it follows from the middle group (12.9%) and then those from small group (16, 4%).

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role in the formation and development for the future life of a teenager, then an adult is indisputable. The leisure spent by children and family is essential because is the first model for a healthy and balanced life style. Acknowledgements The work is the product of research conducted within the project PERFORMER. References
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