“Well, You Feel More Responsible When You’re Unsupervised”: Exploring Family Perspectives on Children’s Independent Mobility

Riazi, Negin A.; Brussoni, Mariana; Vertinsky, Patricia; Faulkner, Guy

doi:10.3390/children8030225

Submit to this Journal Review for this Journal Edit a Special Issue

Article Menu

...

Open AccessArticle

“Well, You Feel More Responsible When You’re Unsupervised”: Exploring Family Perspectives on Children’s Independent Mobility

^1,*

^2,3,4

¹ and

^1,5

School of Kinesiology, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada

Department of Pediatrics, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6H 3V4, Canada

School of Population and Public Health, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z3, Canada

⁴

British Columbia Children’s Hospital Research Institute, Vancouver, BC V6H 3N1, Canada

⁵

Centre for Hip Health and Mobility, Vancouver, BC V5Z 1M9, Canada

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Academic Editor: Jason Gilliland

Children 2021, 8(3), 225; https://doi.org/10.3390/children8030225

Received: 11 February 2021 / Revised: 11 March 2021 / Accepted: 12 March 2021 / Published: 15 March 2021

(This article belongs to the Section Global and Public Health)

View Full-Text Download PDF Citation Export

Abstract

While children’s independent mobility (CIM) is associated with various benefits, there is evidence of a generational decline in CIM in westernized countries; therefore, it is helpful to understand how CIM is currently negotiated between children and their parents. The purpose of this study was to examine children’s and parents’ perspectives and negotiations of CIM within the family unit. Face-to-face interviews and walk-along interviews were conducted with parents (n = 44) and children (n = 22), respectively. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim, and a thematic analysis was conducted. Four key preconditions were identified that facilitated negotiation of CIM within family units, including (1) the influence of parents’ childhood experiences regarding their view of CIM (e.g., positive interpretations of childhood on parenting practices), (2) the role of children’s individual characteristics on their independent mobility (e.g., child’s confidence in their abilities), (3) family communication as a key coping strategy (parent–parent and parent–child communication), and (4) the influence of positive perceptions of the social environment on CIM. The findings suggest that CIM thrives when these conditions are present; as a result, it may be particularly helpful to develop policies and programs that support children’s skill training, explore strategies to support communication between parents and children, and build neighbourhood connections. View Full-Text

Keywords: built environment; communication; confidence; family; social cohesion; social connection; social norms

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

Supplementary Material

Supplementary File 1:
PDF-Document (PDF, 233 KiB)

Share and Cite

MDPI and ACS Style

Riazi, N.A.; Brussoni, M.; Vertinsky, P.; Faulkner, G. “Well, You Feel More Responsible When You’re Unsupervised”: Exploring Family Perspectives on Children’s Independent Mobility. Children 2021, 8, 225. https://doi.org/10.3390/children8030225

AMA Style

Riazi NA, Brussoni M, Vertinsky P, Faulkner G. “Well, You Feel More Responsible When You’re Unsupervised”: Exploring Family Perspectives on Children’s Independent Mobility. Children. 2021; 8(3):225. https://doi.org/10.3390/children8030225

Chicago/Turabian Style

Riazi, Negin A., Mariana Brussoni, Patricia Vertinsky, and Guy Faulkner. 2021. "“Well, You Feel More Responsible When You’re Unsupervised”: Exploring Family Perspectives on Children’s Independent Mobility" Children 8, no. 3: 225. https://doi.org/10.3390/children8030225

Find Other Styles

Note that from the first issue of 2016, MDPI journals use article numbers instead of page numbers. See further details here.

Article Metrics

Abstract views Pdf views Html views

Article Access Map by Country/Region

Author Biographies

Negin A. Riazi

Dr. Negin A. Riazi recently completed her program of study in the School of Kinesiology at The University of British Columbia. Her research on children’s physical activity has two main foci: children’s independent mobility and population-level physical activity initiatives and policy-level interventions.

Mariana Brussoni

Dr. Mariana Brussoni is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics and School of Population and Public Health at The University of British Columbia and an investigator at the British Columbia Children’s Hospital Research Institute. Her research focuses on understanding injuries in children and youth, and measuring the physical, psychosocial, and financial impacts of injuries on children, their families, and the health care system. She also investigates the importance of outdoor risky play for children’s healthy development, and how the built outdoor environment impacts children’s play.

Patricia Vertinsky

Dr. Patricia Vertinsky is a Professor in the School of Kinesiology at The University of British Columbia. She is of historian of physical culture exploring the world of ﬁtness, sport, physical activity, and physical education across the last 2 centuries and in a transnational context. Her research projects include a focus on the medicalization of the female athletic body, exercise and pregnancy, gender, sport and physical activity, critical histories of female physical education, movement education and kinesiology, the ﬂow of physical cultures such as yoga across time and space, comparisons of traditional Chinese medicine and Western biomedicine on understandings of physical activity and health, and research on modern dance and masculinities.

Guy Faulkner

Dr. Guy Faulkner is a Professor in the School of Kinesiology at The University of British Columbia. He leads the Population Physical Activity Lab, which conducts research incorporating a range of disciplinary perspectives and research designs, and theoretical and methodological approaches in addressing three critical questions: What factors cause or prevent physical (in)activity and sedentary behaviour? How does participation in physical activity inﬂuence mental health? How are effective population-level physical activity initiatives designed, delivered, and disseminated for public health?

Article Menu

“Well, You Feel More Responsible When You’re Unsupervised”: Exploring Family Perspectives on Children’s Independent Mobility

Abstract

Supplementary Material

Share and Cite

Article Metrics

Article Access Statistics

Article Access Map by Country/Region

Author Biographies

Further Information

Guidelines

MDPI Initiatives

Follow MDPI