Early results from the HAPPEN At Home Survey shows that children are being more active and feel safer in the local areas during lockdown…
How are children coping with social distancing, school closures and the challenges caused by COVID-19?
Early finding show lockdown may be a positive experience for children. Insight from the first 450 pupils shows that children are being more active; 58% report that they are doing an hour or more of activity on 5+ days compared to 37% before lockdown. It may be that they have more free time to play and more time to be active with families.
As well as this, children also feel safer in their areas (84% report feeling safe playing in their area now compared to 76% before lockdown). With less traffic on the roads and less groups congregating, it may be that children now feel safer. This may have also increased where they go to be active if they feel safer in their communities.
Children are also sleeping more; 83% report having 9 and a half hours a night compared to 62%. This could be because they are being more active or perhaps, they are lying in longer rather than waking to get to school.
There are negative impacts of lockdown. Screen time has increased. Over half (54%) now report watching screens for more than two hours a day compared to 36% before. Home schooling may underpin this. Parents may be using tablets and laptops to help educate their children. Parents may also be using screens to occupy their children while they work from home.
Less children are also brushing their teeth twice or more a day (62% compared to 76%). Disruptions to daily routines could be one reason for this.
Children are worrying the same as they ever had. A total of 64% say they worry a lot, but this is the same as prior to lockdown. They also report that they are happier now; 91% say they are happy with their lives compared to 81% before lockdown. Increased time with family members could account for this, alongside being more active. Activity is associated with improved mood and wellbeing.
Findings from the HAPPEN At Home Survey can have significant impacts for the future. Valuing physical activity and play should be high on the agenda for young people as the wider impacts are vast. There are already calls for outdoor learning approaches to be adopted more widely in schools when pupils return. HAPPEN’s previous research has shown this can be a valuable tool. Workplace should also priorities work/life balance as spending more time with families will also impact on children’s well-being.
HAPPEN aims to bring together education, health and research to help schools have a better understanding of pupil’s physical, psychological, emotional and social health to enable everyone to work together to improve child wellbeing and academic achievement. Schools receive an individual report from HAPPEN to help with this. Over the last five years, HAPPEN has expanded to include over 300 schools and 12,000 children across Wales.
The HAPPEN At Home Survey has now closed. Keep an eye out for more detailed findings coming soon.
Taken from our latest blog post for the Population Data Science website…