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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 gwyther.rees@york.ac.uk Social Policy Research Unit, University of York, Heslington, York, YO10 5DD, UK
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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

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