自然遊びにおける子どもの笑顔とその「身体」

抄録

An attempt was made to examine the smiles of children during outdoor recreational play from the viewpoint of "mind and body theories". Methods used were as follows: 1) Conditions under which children smiled were categorized by observing their outdoor recreational play. 2) Hypotheses were set up by examining the above categories through additional observations including those under experimental settings. 3) Hypotheses were reinforced by antecedent studies, reports, and articles on smiling. 4) The hypotheses were finally examined by "mind and body theories". The following conclusions were obtained: 1) Children's smiles during outdoor recreational play are an expression of children's feelings of "security, peace of mind, and reliance" on friends and instructors in the "intersubjective world" which is formed by children as subjects at play, their friends, and nature as the object and background of the world of play. 2) Children's smiles are the sign of "surplus energy of life" or "latitude" of the body in the depth of "ground" of their mind and body. 3) Children's smiles are "natural expressions of joy, pleasure and enjoyment from the bottom core of their mind and body" in their "subconscious emotions, feelings and moods". 4) Children's smiles are, in some cases, an expression of a "feeling of attainment", in which they find a "new world" and "new bodily identity". 5) Children's smiles themselves are "mind and body communications of sympathy" with others, especially friends.