Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jkksz Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-24T01:50:21.610Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Children's daily activities: age variations between 8 and 12 years old across 16 countries

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 March 2020

Gwyther Rees
Gwyther Rees*
Affiliation:
Social Policy Research Unit, University of York, York, UK
*
CONTACT Gwyther Rees [email protected] Social Policy Research Unit, University of York, Heslington, York, YO10 5DD, UK
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This article uses information reported by over 54,000 children aged 8–12 years old about their daily activities in a diverse sample of 16 countries across four continents. It explores between-country similarities and differences in patterns of activities across this age range. The analysis focuses on four topics identified in previous research – involvement with housework, the emphasis on educational activities, the balance between active and sedentary leisure activities, and the balance between time spent with family and friends. The results suggest diverging age variations in children's activities across countries between the ages of 8 and 12 including tentative evidence of differences between low-income and high-income countries. They also highlight the need to understand children's daily activities within the specific context of individual countries.

Keywords

Children's activitieschildren's time usemiddle childhoodcomparative research
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of International and Comparative Social Policy , Volume 33 , Issue 2 , June 2017 , pp. 114 - 135
Copyright
Copyright © 2017 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Amin, S., & Chandrasekhar, S. (2012). Looking beyond universal primary education: Gender differences in time use among children in rural Bangladesh. Asian Population Studies, 8(1), 23–38.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bokhorst, C. L., Sumter, S. R., & Westenberg, P. M. (2010). Social support from parents, friends, classmates, and teachers in children and adolescents aged 9 to 18 years: Who is perceived as most supportive? Social Development, 19(2), 417–426.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bucksch, J., Inchley, J., Hamrik, Z., Finne, E., & Kolip, P. (2014). Trends in television time, non-gaming PC use and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity among German adolescents 2002–2010. BMC Public Health, 14(1), 40.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cohen, R. (2001). Children's contribution to household labour in three sociocultural contexts: A Southern Indian village, a Norwegian Town and a Canadian City. International Journal of Comparative Sociology, 42(4), 353–367.Google Scholar
Cueto, S., & Escobal D'Angelo, J. (2011). Tracking disparities: Who gets left behind? Initial findings from Peru: Round 3 survey report. Oxford, UK: Young Lives, Department of International Development, University of Oxford.Google Scholar
Currie, C., Zanotti, C., Morgan, A., Currie, D., de Looze, M., Roberts, C., … Barnekow, V. (2012). Social determinants of health and well-being among young people. Copenhagen, Denmark: World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe.Google Scholar
DeHart, G. B., Sroufe, L. A., & Cooper, R. G. (2004). Child development: Its nature and course (5th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.Google Scholar
Dornan, P., & Woodhead, M. (2015). How inequalities develop through childhood: Life-course evidence from young lives. Oxford, UK: Young Lives, Department of International Development, University of Oxford.Google Scholar
Duc, L. T., & Nguyễn, T. (2011). How do children fare in the new millennium? Initial findings from Vietnam: Round 3 survey report. Oxford, UK: Young Lives, Department of International Development, University of Oxford.Google Scholar
Ekelund, U., Tomkinson, G., & Armstrong, N. (2011). What proportion of youth are physically active? Measurement issues, levels and recent time trends. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 45(11), 859–865.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Ersado, L. (2005). Child labor and schooling decisions in urban and rural areas: Comparative evidence from Nepal, Peru, and Zimbabwe. World Development, 33(3), 455–480.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Galab, S., & Vijay Kumar, S. (2011). The impact of growth on childhood poverty in Andhra Pradesh: Initial findings from India: Round 3 survey report. Oxford, UK: Young Lives, Department of International Development, University of Oxford.Google Scholar
Gill, G. K. (1998). The strategic involvement of children in housework: An Australian case of two-income families. International Journal of Comparative Sociology, 39(3), 301–314.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goh, E. C. L., & Kuczynski, L. (2014). “She is too young for these chores” - is housework taking a back seat in Urban Chinese childhood? Children & Society, 28, 280–291.Google Scholar
Hofferth, S. L., & Sandberg, J. F. (2001). How American children spend their time. Journal of Marriage and Family, 63(2), 295–308.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Inchley, J., Currie, D., Young, T., Samdal, O., Torsheim, T., Augustson, L., … Barnekow, V. (2016). Growing up unequal: Gender and socioeconomic differences in young people's health and well-being. Copenhagen, Denmark: World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe.Google Scholar
Janssen, I., & LeBlanc, A. G. (2010). Review Systematic review of the health benefits of physical activity and fitness in school-aged children and youth. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 7(40), 1–16.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kuykendall, L., Tay, L., & Ng, V. (2015). Leisure engagement and subjective well-being: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 141(2), 364–403.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Larson, R. W., & Verma, S. (1999). How children and adolescents spend time across the world: Work, play and developmental opportunities. Psychological Bulletin, 125(6), 701–736.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Leech, R. M., McNaughton, S. A., & Timperio, A. (2014). The clustering of diet, physical activity and sedentary behavior in children and adolescents: A review. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 11, 4.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Livingstone, S., Mascheroni, G., Ólafsson, K., & Haddon, L. (2014). Children's online risks and opportunities: Comparative findings from EU kids online and net children go mobile. London: London School of Economics and Political Science.Google Scholar
Nickerson, A. B., & Nagle, R. J. (2005). Parent and peer attachment in late childhood and early adolescence. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 25(2), 223–249.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Putnick, D. L., & Bornstein, M. H. (2015). Is child labor a barrier to school enrollment in low- and middle-income countries? International Journal of Educational Development, 41, 112–120.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rees, G. (in press). Children's activities and time use: Variations between and within 16 countries. Children and Youth Services Review.Google Scholar
Rees, G., & Main, G. (2015). Children's views on their lives and well-being in 15 countries: A report on the children's worlds survey, 2013–14. York: Children's Worlds Project (ISCWeB).Google Scholar
Rees, G., Tonon, G., Mikkelsen, C., & Rodriguez de la Vega, L. (in press). Urban-rural variations in children's lives and subjective well-being: A comparative analysis of four countries. Children and Youth Services Review.Google Scholar
Rubin, K., Fredstrom, B., & Bowker, J. (2008). Future directions in … Friendship in childhood and early adolescence. Social Development, 17(4), 1085–1096.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sigmund, E., Sigmundová, D., Badura, P., Kalman, M., Hamrik, Z., & Pavelka, J. (2015). Temporal trends in overweight and obesity, physical activity and screen time among Czech adolescents from 2002 to 2014: A national health behaviour in school-aged children study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 12(9), 11848–11868.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Susanli, Z. B., Inanc-Tuncer, O., & Kologlugil, S. (2016). Child domestic labour and mothers’ employment in Turkey. Economic Research-Ekonomska Istraživanja, 29(1), 967–979.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tremblay, M. S., LeBlanc, A. G., Kho, M. E., Saunders, T. J., Larouche, R., Colley, R. C., … Connor Gorber, S. C. (2011). Systematic review of sedentary behaviour and health indicators in school-aged children and youth. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 8, 98.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
UNESCO. (2016). Global education monitoring report 2016: Education for people and planet: Creating sustainable futures for all (2nd ed.). Paris: Author.Google Scholar
Vogler, P., Morrow, V., & Woodhead, M. (2009). Conceptualising and measuring children's time use. Young Lives Technical Note 14. Oxford, UK: Young Lives, Department of International Development, University of Oxford.Google Scholar
White, L. K., & Brinkerhoff, D. B. (1981). Children's work in the family: Its significance and meaning. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 43(4), 789.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Woldehanna, T., & Gudisa, R. (2011). Understanding changes in the lives of poor children: Initial findings from Ethiopia: Round 3 survey report. Oxford, UK: Young Lives, Department of International Development, University of Oxford.Google Scholar