ABSTRACT

A decline in children’s opportunities for outdoor play was observed during the past decades. Expanding opportunities for outdoor play through intergenerational programs for children and elders could benefit their mental and physical health. This study explores the learnings that Canadian grandparents and their 3- to 5-year-old grandchildren attained through intergenerational outdoor play. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 14 grandparents from British Columbia, Canada. Using thematic analysis, we identified six themes related to what grandchildren learned, two related to what grandparents learned, and one related to what grandparents and grandchildren learned together during outdoor play. Findings from this study indicate that outdoor play provides a unique opportunity to develop skills that are useful at grandparents’ and grandchildren’s respective life stages and should therefore be supported by educators and other professionals who work with families.

摘要

在过去的几十年里，人们观察到儿童户外玩耍的机会有所减少。通过针对儿童和老年人的代际计划扩大户外玩耍的机会可能有利于他们的身心健康。这项研究探讨了加拿大祖父母和他们 3 至 5 岁的孙辈通过代际户外游戏获得的知识。对来自加拿大不列颠哥伦比亚省的 14 名祖父母进行了半结构化访谈。通过主题分析，我们确定了六个与孙子们所学内容相关的主题，两个与祖父母所学内容相关，一个与祖父母和孙子们在户外游戏中一起学习的内容相关。