Leisure and the Life Span
Life Span
the changes and continuities of life from birth to death
Locus of Control
the extent to which individuals believe that they can control events that affect them internal vs external Play teaches children how to manage/express emotion
Recess
More than 30,000 schools have eliminated recess
4 developmental stages of thinking ability
2 knowledge of objects, play through senses 7 pre operational stage, language and imagination to build the outside world 11 concrete operational stage, think logically, use symbols 15 formal questions, reason realistically
Later Life
65 and older Defying stereotypes Focus on relationships Friends and fun are more difficult but more important Community organizations Period of transitions Work-retirement parents-grandparents Marriage-widow relocation
Average life expectancy
78.7 years
Leisure and aging
A person's leisure repertoire reaches a peak during early adulthood Our desire for familiar forms of leisure is greatest in infancy and old age
Early Establishment Period
Age 20-40 Transition into adulthood Physical capabilities and energy at peak Seek wide assortment of active forms of recreation Interest in high risk activities Personal Identity still forming - career development Have a lot of freedom Date-Marry-Children
Middle Adulthood
Age 40-65 Realization of one's own mortality Deadline decade, mid-life crisis Evaluate career/relationships Satisfying leisure activities are important to overall happiness Children are independent Couples renew their relationship Leisure pursuits shift from family to individual and friends Important period for future mental health
Balance
Change what we add to our life when we want to get some variety may only last for a short period of time
Core
Continuity about 50% of our activities are carried over from childhood into adulthood usually accessible and low cost activities i.e. watching t.v., reading
35-45
Deadline decade, midlife crisis Leisure can be used to lower levels of depression Renewed interest in self, begin maintenance exercise programs because you start to look older
Teen social groups
Elites Athletes Deviants Academics Others
Identity
Leisure provides context for experimenting with one's identity
Leisure/health
Leisure sustains health: energy, immune system, cardiovascular function, stress management
Family
Leisure will be expressed with the partner Social activities become home and neighborhood focused Parent's become involved in child's leisure activities
Levels of play - peer interactions
Nonsocial, solitary, onlooker, parallel, associative, cooperative
Retirement behaviors
Reducers: participated in the same or in fewer, at the same or at a lower frequency Concentrators: participated in the same or in fewer, but at higher frequency Diffusers: participated in a larger number, but at the same or at a lower frequency Expanders: participated in a larger number and at a higher frequency Expanders and concentrators experience higher life satisfaction
Gender identity
a person's private sense of and subjective experience of their own gender
Adolescent leisure and intellectual well-being
develop imaginative skills, logical thinking, and reasoning skills results in richer, broader, and more flexible thought
Sandwich years
family pressures on both sides; parents and children
Children's time outdoors
fell 50% from 1997-2003
Competitive sport participations by teens
improved self-confidence, social status, strength and coordination, and social support/friend bonding
Autonomy
independence from others in thoughts and actions; ability to self-govern develops through social groups
Leisure context provided by social groups
learning to manage own experiences establish social negotiation skills learn to control own environment develop empathy learn role-taking, self-control, and sharing
Childhood obesity epidemic
more than 1/3 children
Renewed interest in children's play
new focus on allowing children to have unstructured play, recognizing its importance for overall development
Adolescent activity interests
physical capabilities and energy are high seeking strenuous or high-risk activities
Childhood and importance of play
play develops physical and social skills, learn rules and gender roles (recognized by age 3) 6-12 years old: the amount of muscle tissue doubles and flexibility increases and play is required to increase motor control and for healthy bone growth
Newborns
play to learn and develop basic motor skills, non motor skills, as well as muscle control and coordination
Changes can cause
social and psychological awkwardness Leisure can help teens cope
Cognitive Skills
the ability to gain meaning and knowledge from experiences and information; ability to think about new information, process and speak about it and apply it to other previously acquired information--- from the purest child play: unstructured, self motivated, imaginative play
Well-being
the dynamic process that ensures that people possess a sense of individual vitality, are able to undertake activities that are meaningful, engaging, and make them feel competent and autonomous, have a stock of resources to help them be resilient to changes and circumstances not under their immediate control
Health
the level of functioning for a person the general condition of a person's mind, body, and spirit, usually meaning to be free from illness, injury, or pain, that contributes to well-being
Adolescence
the transition from childhood to adulthood describing both the development of physical and sexual maturity as well as psychological and economic independence
Core plus balance
there is both a persistent core and a balancing variety in our pastimes across the life span
Building blocks of well-being
(A) growth and development (B) health
50s
Reintegration period, life evaluation New pastimes added, former dropped or renewed Muscle fibers decrease Use leisure to slow the age/disability process
Leisure and adolescent emotional well-being
provides a context to experiment with identity formation
Stereotypes
can sometimes be problematic for social development
