Early findings from over 800 children, who completed the HAPPEN At Home Survey, show that In lockdown it matters if you are a child who lives in a deprived area.
*please note 30% of respondents were from the more deprived communities in Wales
Only 4 in 10 children in a deprived area were able to be active* compared to 6 in 10 in a non-deprived area. Why?
Children in a deprived area were more likely to report they could not walk to a park, or go to somewhere they would like to play. Boys, who felt their area was not safe to play, had higher screen time.
On the whole, feeling your area is safe and having somewhere to play outside were the best predictors of being active.
Results also show that children have a better diet in lockdown with more fruit and veg and less takeaways compared to before lockdown.
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. 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 is still recruiting. If you have or know a child between 8 and 11, please get them to take part. You can access the survey here: https://happen-wales.co.uk/thehappensurvey/.
HAPPEN would also love to see any videos of young people talking about their experiences which you can send to happen-wales@swansea.ac.uk.
