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Monkey bars and medical masks : a photo-voice study of children’s playground safety in British Columbia, Canada Bauer, Michelle E. E.; Kovacs, Ildikó G.; Pike, Ian, 1958-

Abstract

Children’s perspectives on their outdoor play safety can provide unique insight into what activities and environments are injurious for them. In this study, we conducted photo-elicitation interviews with 13 children (7 girls, 6 boys) from low- to mid-income communities who were between the ages of 9- to 13-years-old. The goal of the study was to examine their perspectives of outdoor play safety around urban playgrounds over a two- week period while they participated in day camp activities. Our thematic content analysis resulted in three themes: (1) fear of falling; (2) illness prevention; and (3) need for excitement. Our findings suggest children’s perception of safe play may be shaped by exposure to sanitary practices throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Further, findings demonstrate chil-dren can experience tensions in participating in desirable play that is exciting, novel, and challenging, while fearing they could fall from higher structures that afford them with these opportunities.

Item Metadata

Title
Monkey bars and medical masks : a photo-voice study of children’s playground safety in British Columbia, Canada
Creator
Bauer, Michelle E. E.; Kovacs, Ildikó G.; Pike, Ian, 1958-
Contributor
B.C. Injury Research and Prevention Unit
Date Issued
2024-08-19
Description
Children’s perspectives on their outdoor play safety can provide unique insight into what activities and environments are injurious for them. In this study, we conducted photo-elicitation interviews with 13 children (7 girls, 6 boys) from low- to mid-income communities who were between the ages of 9- to 13-years-old. The goal of the study was to examine their perspectives of outdoor play safety around urban playgrounds over a two- week period while they participated in day camp activities. Our thematic content analysis resulted in three themes: (1) fear of falling; (2) illness prevention; and (3) need for excitement. Our findings suggest children’s perception of safe play may be shaped by exposure to sanitary practices throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. Further, findings demonstrate chil-dren can experience tensions in participating in desirable play that is exciting, novel, and challenging, while fearing they could fall from higher structures that afford them with these opportunities.
Subject
Outdoors; risk; childhood; play; playground; Children and youth (0-19); Injury policy and prevention
Genre
Article
Type
Text
Language
eng
Date Available
2025-03-12
Provider
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Rights
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
DOI
10.14288/1.0448188
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/2429/90476
Affiliation
Education, Faculty of; Medicine, Faculty of; Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of; Pediatrics, Department of
Citation
Michelle E. E. Bauer, Ildikó G. Kovacs & Ian Pike (19 Aug 2024): Monkey bars and medical masks: a photo-voice study of children’s playground safety in British Columbia, Canada, Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning
Publisher DOI
10.1080/14729679.2024.2393133
Peer Review Status
Reviewed
Scholarly Level
Faculty; Postdoctoral; Graduate
Rights URI
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
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Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International