The Study of Changes in Children's Playing and Play Spot Choices due to COVID-19

Abstract

The global COVID-19 pandemic forced people to restrict their activities and lives. Human contact was reduced to a minimum, and the environment pertaining to outdoor playing changed dramatically.In this study, with the aim of clarifying the impact of the pandemic on outdoor playing, we investigated changes in the way people played and the places where they played, in urban centers and suburban areas, respectively. The results show that, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of active play activities decreased in both urban and suburban areas, and people chose to engage in playing in ways that could be done on the spot. It is noteworthy that the proportion of children playing in parks decreased, while the proportion of children playing on the roads increased. The decrease in active playing may also indicate a shift to playing in smaller areas where only neighbors gather, such as roads.