Relation between Japanese kindergartener's lessons and lifestyles in 2013

Shu Izumi；Akira Maehashi

kindergartener ； lesson ； rise time ； bed time ； watching TV

幼兒運動遊戲年刊

9期（2016 / 02 / 01）

33 - 39

英文

The purpose of this study was to examine the relation between lessons and the lifestyles of Japanese kindergarten children. This study was carried out in 2013 with Japanese kindergarteners aged 5 to 6. Self-administered questionnaires were distributed and collected at the kindergartens. The total number of completed questionnaires were 2,896 (1,489 boys and 1,407 girls).The contents of the survey were basic information such as sex and age, information on the kindergarten lessons children take lessons in addition to their kindergarten lessons, contents of the lessons and children's lifestyles. The subjects were divided into four groups: ＂Those not taking any lessons＂, ＂Those taking a static lesson＂, ＂Those taking a dynamic lesson ＂, and ＂Those taking both a static and dynamic lesson＂. From the study, it was discovered that about 40.0% of 5-6 year-old kindergarten children commute to lessons after their regular kindergarten lessons. The top 4 contents of the extracurricular the lessons for both boys and girls were swimming, gymnastics, English and piano or electronic organs. The dinner time and the bed time of the children ＂Not taking any lessons＂ were later when compared with the children ＂Taking a static & dynamic lesson＂, and there were significant differences in the breakfast time and the time to go to kindergarten. Especially notable was that the children ＂Not taking any lessons＂ did not spend much time outside of the house playing when compared with the other children who had some lessons. And the amount of time watching TV for these children was about 2 hours a day. This suggests that a lack of physical activity during the daytime leads to increasingly late bed times among those subjects. So there is fear that a disruption of the rhythm of sleep also disturbs the rhythm of eating habits and the custom of physical activity.