Indicator: 46 - Family Time for Leisure and Recreation

 

 

Why This Is Important

Part of a healthy lifestyle for families and children is the opportunity to play and relax.
Especially for those families in which both parents are working, there is a concern that
family time for leisure and recreation may get pushed aside by the demands of daily
activities. This Mark recognizes that all families need opportunities to play.

 

 

Where We Stand

A consistent trend downward is apparent on this indicator since 2000. For 2004,
59% of parents who had children under the age of 18 “agreed” or “strongly agreed”
with the statement that they believed their family has adequate time for leisure and
recreation. This is a 15% decrease since the year 2000. Considering the rough 2004
income category estimates provided by the weighted data, households with lower
income report significantly less time for leisure and recreation than those with higher
incomes.

 

Data Sources and Context

Data on this indicator comes from a statewide telephone survey of Maine households
with children present who are age 18 or younger. The respondents to this survey were
adults in the household who self-identified as a parent. The indicator is similar to
indicators used by the Maine Development Foundation in their previous surveys of
Maine citizens, or other national surveys of families, so that the data could be used to
monitor trends over time and to compare Maine to the nation. This 2004/5 survey was
conducted by Critical Insights, a strategic marketing research firm in Portland, Maine.
During the months of December 2004 and January 2005, 400 Maine adults responded to
the survey.

The adults were asked the following: “Do you agree or disagree with the following statement:

I believe that our family has adequate time for leisure and recreation.”

Only the data in the “all” column is statistically representative of adults in
households with children under the age of 18 in Maine. The information that
is provided by category of household income is a rough estimate using weighted
data based on the 2003 American Communities Survey Multi-Year Profile of the
U.S. Census, household income report for Maine. These categories are estimates
only for descriptive purposes and should not be used to make inferences about all
households in Maine with children under the age of 18.