Children's active outdoor play: ‘good’ mothering and the organisation of children's free time

Abstract

This qualitative study draws on the Foucault-inspired notion of biopedagogies to examine and problematise the salient factors of contemporary motherhood impacting children's active outdoor play (AOP). The study positions mothering as a practice, through which children's health and bodies are constructed and disciplined. A discourse analysis of 21 interviews with Canadian mothers identified three discursive constructions of the 'good mother': mothers as time managers, risk managers and screen-time managers. Each was characterised by discursive conflicts that compromised the provision of AOP by mothers. This study provides data necessary for successfully including AOP as a leisure practice within family-centred health promotion.