“I like relaxing on the trees when the leaves are falling”: Children’s experiences of relaxation in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC)

Thematic relevance: Research into children’s experiences of relaxation is limited: while in the psychological literature relaxation is typically conceptualised as decreased cortisol levels, there is currently no research documenting children’s experiences and conceptualisations of relaxation. Such insight into how children experience relaxation can be used to inform ECEC policies and practices. Background and Purpose section: In a context where there are longstanding concerns around children’s stress levels in ECEC – and increasing concern around children’s mental health generally – understanding children’s experiences of relaxation in ECEC is crucial. Despite this, currently no such research exists. While the children’s rights literature and ECEC policy documentation present an aspiration to provide children with agency and opportunities for relaxing experiences, previous research has shown that practical barriers, predominantly related to staff ratios and workload, inhibit responsive practices. There are studies on the effects of mindfulness and yoga interventions on children, which generally find significant improvements in children’s cortisol levels and a range of well-being indicators. However, these studies also acknowledged that an underlying mechanism of these programs is relaxation, which remains poorly understood. Methods section: Our study sought to address this gap in knowledge by asking: how do children experience relaxation in ECEC? This research was informed an interpretivist approach which posits that children are competent social actors and experts in their own experiences. We used a child-centric methodology and conducted drawing-prompted, semi-structured group interviews with 46 child participants aged 3-5 years old across six ECEC services at two time points. Children were asked about what it means to relax and what they do to relax. Results section: Children described sensory-rich conceptualisations of relaxation which predominantly pertained to bodily temperature and positive emotions. Three key themes emerged from children’s accounts of relaxation: play, people and place. Children often referenced play as relaxing although the forms of play were diverse: some children emphasised playing alone while others described playing with friends. While most children reported sedentary play as relaxing (e.g. building Lego, listening to music, making puzzles), some children made references to physically active play (e.g. football). Some children relayed that certain people, typically friends and parents, helped them to relax. Finally, place was key in shaping children’s relaxation experiences. Children frequently discussed nature as a place where they could relax. Conclusions and Implications section: Young children are capable of understanding relaxation and communicating relaxation preferences. While ECEC policies emphasise children’s agency and meeting children’s individual relaxation needs, our study indicates that such policy aspirations are not always being met in current practices. The ECEC services we visited had places and play resources which children used to relax, but children could only access these resources within the confines of adult generated schedules. Improvements to ECEC practices could include allowing children access to relaxing resources and places throughout the ECEC day and educators engaging children in conversations about their relaxation preferences. Further research is need into how children experience relaxation in inner-city ECEC services where access to nature is limited.