Children’s use of playgrounds. Limiting children’s agency by parental choices

Abstract

Children and their families often use free and public playgrounds as a means and a tool for outdoor play, social interaction and a safe place and space for experiences. The mostly and widely shared assumption that the use and visit of a (particular) playground is up to the respective child cannot be confirmed by this study’s results. The results of this study show that parents in Italy and Germany intervene where the social experience of their children is concerned, in particular, where different cultures are tangled. Paren- tal intervention occurred as ethnic and/or national segregation by time and space in Italy and Germany. Austrian parents showed a different behaviour pattern.

Keywords

• playground
• children’s agency
• parental choices
• ethnic and national segregation