What do children do all day?

Many Kiwis think New Zealand is a great place to bring up kids. The natural environment lends itself to a large variety of outdoor activities, and New Zealand cities have lots of parks, playgrounds, and outdoor spaces. A network of libraries, early childcare centres, music groups, and playgroups help to keep kids busy and learning. The word cloud here (Figure 1) illustrates the kinds of activities and experiences the children in the Growing Up in New Zealand study had taken part in during their first two years of life. 

A trip to the park, the beach or the library are among the most popular activities, alongside swimming lessons, music groups, a zoo visit, and even a trip to the local farmers’ market.

Many of the objects and images collected as part of Te Papa’s Collecting childhood project reflect the activities highlighted by the Growing Up in New Zealand study. All of the kids in the Te Papa project attended a playgroup of one kind or another, and outdoor activities such as riding a scooter at the park and playing ball games were regularly enjoyed. But so were indoor activities such as watching TV, listening to a story or music, and playing computer games.

The amount of time children spend watching TV or a computer screen has become an issue of concern. Recommendations for parents regarding the appropriate amount of screen-time for children are readily available on the internet – but what are the facts? The graphic here (Figure 2) shows the reality of contemporary family life where 79% of 2-year-olds watch TV and DVDs, with 64 percent of these children watching between 1 and 3 hours per day.

 

Infographics reproduced courtesy of Growing Up in New Zealand