Play and leisure in Australian School Age Care: Reconceptualizing children’s waiting as a site of play and labour

This research examines how children spend time waiting in Australian after-school care programmes, which are typically viewed only as leisure and play spaces. The study uses poststructural theory to argue that waiting is not simply empty time, but involves emotional labour, play and identity work. The authors suggest that waiting should be reconsidered as a meaningful activity in programming and practice within play-based care settings.

Key points

• Australian School Age Care programmes are underexamined childhood settings positioned between school and home
• Waiting, usually considered non-playful, incorporates acts of emotional labour, play and identity construction
• The research challenges conventional understandings of waiting as wasted or meaningless time
• The study proposes waiting should be incorporated into programming practices in care settings

Limitations

This article appears to be a conceptual or literature-based analysis rather than a primary empirical study, so it does not report original data on child outcomes or intervention effects. The document does not specify what evidence it draws on or provide quantitative measures of child well-being.