Recreation study: women with pre-school children, Christchurch, 1984

Abstract

This study looks at a group of Christchurch women with pre- school children, in an attempt to gain insights into their recreational and childcare needs. The New Zealand Council for Recreation and Sport believes that recreation should be available to every member of the community regardless of sex, age, race or ability. For women with pre-schoolers, their right to recreation can be restrained in many ways with the main problem being what to do with the children. Women face the choice of taking the children with them or allowing someone else to care for them. Local authorities and recreation personnel are increasingly providing creche facilities in an attempt to alleviate the constraint of childcare. This study considers womens recreation, childcare and a focus is given to what type of women use creche facilities and why other women do not. Finally suggestions are made that could assist local authorities and recreation personnel to meet the recreation and childcare needs of women with pre-school children.