One approach to research on relaxation focuses on stress and stress reduction. This stress-centric approach exemplifies medicalization – that is, defining and treating human conditions and problems as medical concerns and subject to medical study and treatment. When relaxation is medicalized, it becomes a treatment for stress rather than a normal experience in everyday life. A concern addressed in this study is that when children's relaxation is medicalized, children are viewed as being passive and vulnerable. This view of children makes the adult the expert in helping children combat stress.
A different approach – as used in this study – is based on the understanding that children are competent social agents and that they can take an active role in constructing their personal worlds. Forty-six children (age 3-5) from six childcare programs in Brisbane, Australia participated in group interviews during which they were asked about what it means to relax and what they did to relax. While the children were invited to produce drawings of their ideas during the interview, they were not pressured to do so. Some children chose to just talk to the interviewer; others “acted out” their experiences. The interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim.
Children indicated that place and play are important to relaxation and that these two factors are interconnected. They identified common places for experiencing relaxation, particularly in nature and at home. Some children found playing quietly alone to be relaxing; others described playing with friends as relaxing. While there were frequent reports of relaxing with parents, there was a lack of reports of relaxing with teachers. Children described their relaxation experiences as being sensory-rich and centered on feelings of coziness and comfortableness. Air temperature also played a role in their conceptualizations of relaxation. Children described their experiences of relaxation as an enjoyable part of their everyday lives. These descriptions are in sharp contrast with the medicalized and stress-centric discourses sometimes used in discussions about children's relaxation.
The approach used in conducting this research was based on an understanding of children's competence and agency. The results provide evidence to support this understanding. “Children displayed competence in understanding relaxation and exercising their agency to participate in their preferred relaxation experiences.” The results are also consistent with other research indicating that children find time in nature relaxing. In this and other studies, children reported enjoying the sensory experiences of being out in nature. They shared how time in nature triggered positive feelings and emotional responses, including relaxation. When asked to describe their relaxation experiences, many children referred to watching, touching and feeling nature.
This research adds to the literature by calling attention to the importance of affording children agency to choose experiences that are relaxing to them while in childcare. Childcare professionals are encouraged to engage children in discussions about their relaxation preferences and to allow children to choose the environmental and social settings that support their relaxation needs.
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