Participation in organised activities

The topic of the 3-year-old’s participation in organised activities arose in the

consultations with parents. A combination of enrolling in classes, such as sporting

activities, and attendance at once-off events such as football matches, pantomimes

etc was discussed. Parents seemed to feel that children were becoming old enough

to benefit from participating in – or at least attending – such activities. They also

spoke about their happiness in seeing their child’s skills developing. There were no

similar questions for Cohort 08 at 3 years, probably on the assumption that age 3 was

too young for most organised activities, but it is possible that this has changed over

time. It is also possible that as the children of the parents in the focus groups were

aged 3 and some months, and some had recently turned 4 years, their participation in

organised activities will be greater than for children who have only just turned 3 years

(like Cohort 24 at time of interview, presumably).

Nonetheless given that this is a possible unexplored avenue for the young child’s

learning and development, and a potential source of inequality in the early years for

families who cannot afford such activities, it is worth piloting some questions on the

issue.

Recommendation for Cohort 24 at 3 years:

•Include some questions about the child’s participation in, and attendance at, organised activities and events. Examples include sports classes and matches, and theatre/dance/music. The question should distinguish between children participating versus being a spectator. It could also be useful to ask why the children does not participate in activities with potential response options of ‘not available’, ‘too expensive’, ‘child too young’.

Chapter 4: Relationships and socio-emotional wellbeing