https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5205-8349Análisis del Covid-19 en los modelos de juego en niños.
Revisión sistemática
luiSa Gámez-calvo
Universidad de Extremadura
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5205-8349
víctor Hernández-Beltrán
Universidad de Extremadura
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7449-5734
lUIS FElIPE CAStEllI CORREIA DE CAMPOS
Universidad del Bio Bio, Chile
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7771-6486
luz marina cHaPalud-narváez
Corporación Universitaria Autónoma del Cauca, Cauca, Colombia 
https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4047-7105
MÁRIO C. ESPADA
Instituto Politécnico de Setúbal, Escola Superior de Educação,Setúbal, Portugal. 
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4524-4784
jOSÉ M. gAMONAlES
Universidad de Extremadura, Cáceres, España; Universidad Francisco de Vitoria, Madrid,
España; Universidad a Distancia de Madrid, España 
https://orcid.org/00000-0002-2444-1535
ABStRACt
During the health emergency caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the child and youth population has faced a series of challenges that have affected both their health and their way of life. The main aim of this study was to analyse the documents related to the transformation of leisure and free time in children and young people and the main characteristics of game during and after confinement because of COVID-19. A systematic review of the scientific literature was carried out using the PRISMA method, using the search phrase: (“COVID-19” AND “play” AND “leisure” AND “children”) in the Web of Science, PubMed and Scopus databases as of 1 September 2023. The results show a decrease in leisure-time physical acti- vities during the pandemic and an increase in sedentary behaviours. The development of physical activity during the COVID-19 pandemic improved the quality of life, as well as the opportunities for physical and emotional development of students.
RESUMEN
Durante la emergencia sanitaria provocada por la pandemia de la COVID-19, la población infanto-juvenil ha enfrentado una serie de desafíos que han afectado tanto a su salud como su forma de vida. El objetivo principal de este trabajo fue analizar los documentos relacionados con la transformación del ocio y tiempo libre en personas infanto-juveniles y las principales características de los juegos durante y después del con- finamiento como consecuencia del COVID-19. Para ello, se realizó una revisión sistemática de la literatura científica mediante el método PRISMA, empleando la frase de búsqueda: (“COVID-19” AND “play” AND “leisure” AND “children”) en las bases de datos Web of Science, PubMed y Scopus a día 1 de septiembre de 2023. Los resultados muestran un descenso de las actividades físicas de ocio durante la pandemia y un aumento de los comportamientos sedentarios. El desarrollo de actividad física durante la pandemia de COVID-19 mejoró la calidad de vida, así como las oportunidades de desarrollo físico y emocional del alumnado.
Recibido: 12/11/2023
Aceptado:10/01/2024
kEywORDS
Physical activity, virtual games, leisure, sedentary lifestyle
PAlABRAS ClAVES
Actividad física, juegos virtuales, ocio, sedentarismo
Para citar este artículo: Gámez-Calvo, L., Hernández-Beltrán, V., Castelli Correia de Campos, L.F., Chapalud-Narvaez, L. M., Espada, M.
C. y Gamonales, J. M. (2024). Analysis of Covid-19 in models of play in children. Systematic review. EA, Escuela Abierta, 27, 41-57. https://doi.
org/10.29257/EA27.2024.04 EA, Escuela Abierta, 2024, 27, 41-57
Currently, it is recommended that children between 6- and 12-years old practice a minimum of 60 minutes of Physical Activity (PA), of moderate to vigorous intensity every day (Colley et al., 2012), to guarantee healthy de- velopment, as well as to prevent obesity and sedentary lifestyle (Hernández-Beltrán et al., 2023; Piercy & Troiano, 2018). Similarly, since the pandemic caused by COVID-19, boys and girls seem to have increased the time they engage in PA in natural environments, in their free time, which may have a general benefit for their health (Tul- chin- Francis et al., 2021). Therefore, free time is understood as the residual time that is outside daily obligations, where different types of activities are usually voluntarily performed with the purpose of generating fun, rest, and the search for personal development (Díaz-Herrera et al., 2022). Consequently, leisure and free time play a fun- damental role in the physical, cognitive, emotional, and social development of children from 6 and 12 years old (Linaza, 2013; Gallardo-López & Gallardo Vázquez, 2018). In this way, PA and play are not only limited to physical development and health but also have the purpose of enhancing the motor, social, psychological, moral, and hygie- ne areas (Carbonell-Ventura et al., 2018).
During the health emergency caused by COVID-19, the child population faced a series of challenges that have sig- nificantly affected their health (Tulchin-Francis et al., 2021), producing serious negative consequences due to the reduction in PA. and the psychological repercussions caused by social isolation (Andreu, 2020). Likewise, several prevalent health problems have been identified in children during this period, including mental health disorders, lack of PA, delays in medical care, and malnutrition, as well as a negative impact on the immune system. (Marga- ritis et al., 2020; Sallis et al., 2020). In addition, this caused a disruption in the social interaction of children, with a decrease in social skills and a high impact on mental health, since it increased the risk of developing diseases such as destructive dysregulation disorder, depressive disorder, major acute and post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as a higher incidence of general psychological symptoms such as emotional disorders, depression, stress, low mood, irritability and insomnia (Guessounm et al., 2020; Rider et al., 2021; Madrigal et al., 2023).
Also, multiple studies show the impact of COVID-19 on leisure in children, since confinement meant the loss of contact in different circles of socialization, such as educational spaces, places of leisure, and free time (Álvarez- Muñoz et al., 2023), or the street itself (Orte et al., 2020), negatively impacting the psychomotor development of children, and consequently, their mental (Madrigal et al., 2023), physics and emotional health status (Sánchez- Torres et al., 2022). During the COVID-19 pandemic, there were limitations to the development of psychomotor skills; however, teachers adapted to the new normality and found in play a way to motivate itself (Checo-Pacheco et al., 2022). On the other hand, during the confinement period, parents had to deal with the work obligations of teleworking (Salcedo-Benites et al., 2021), along with accompanying and monitoring their children’s school prac- tices (Belmonte et al., 2022; González Rivera, 2022), with these could generating an increase in anxiety and stress levels (Moreno & Molins, 2020; Vallejos Salazar & Guevara Vallejos, 2021). Therefore, leisure time routines had to adapt to the new conditions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic (Lorenzo-Sánchez et al., 2022; Álvarez-Muñoz et al., 2023). Therefore, green areas can offer opportunities for the regular practice of PA, providing benefits for the physical and mental health of children’s life (Bello Albeal et al., 2022).
The results of this research are expected to provide information on how the pandemic and confinement measures have influenced the leisure and free time activities of children aged 6 to 12 years old. This will allow us to identify possible repercussions on their comprehensive development, provide recommendations to support their well- being and promote play and PA strategies adapted to new contexts. Therefore, the main objective of this study was to analyse the documents related to the transformation of leisure and free time in children and how the CO- VID-19 pandemic affected their free time.
This study is theoretical research (Ato et al., 2013), with the purpose of updating and classifying articles related to the topic, through the compilation of scientific documents and studies selection processes (Thomas et al., 2012). As a design, a systematic review of the scientific literature was carried out using the PRISMA method (Urrútia & Bonfill, 2010; Robleda, 2019); using the PRISMA declaration guidelines, in order to guarantee that the included documents met the eligibility conditions (Page et al., 2022, 2023).
To carry out the PICO (Population, Intervention, Comparison, and Outcome) strategy (Baptista-González, 2007; Carrión-Pérez et al., 2020), a series of questions related to the object of research were formulated, which are shown in Table 1. The items formulated through the PICO strategy allow us to understand the problems related to games during the moments of leisure and free time of the population from 6 to 12 years old (what effects related to the game have the children suffered? children during and after the COVID-19 pandemic? Also, what characteristics do the games present at the different times analyzed?).
Table 1
PICO questions related to the effects of COVID-19 on leisure and free time in children aged 6 to 12 years.
Population | Intervention | Context | Results |
Select those manuscripts that | Identify the documents that exa- | Analyze the different contexts | Collect documents that |
analyse the child population | mine the different intervention | of games during moments of | clearly specify what happe- |
aged 6 to 12 years during and | proposals related to play during | leisure and free time of chil- | ned to children during and |
after the COVID-19 pandemic. | moments of leisure and free time | dren during and after the CO- | after the COVID-19 pande- |
of children during and after the | VID-19 pandemic. | mic. | |
COVID-19 pandemic. |
Considering the PICO strategy and the two research questions, a series of criteria for the inclusion and exclusion of documents were established in order to select the most suitable documents for the object of study (Table 2).
Typology
Be an original or review scientific article, indexed in JCR and SJR
Date range Published between January 2019 and August 2023.
dren”.
Search descriptors Have the following key terms as search descriptors: “COVID-19” or “COVID19”, “play”, “leisure”, and “chil- Language Be written in English and/or Spanish.
Theme
Manuscripts that are not directly related to games during leisure and free time of people from 6 to 12 years old*.
Type of document Documents that are not scientific articles.
Moment
Manuscripts that do not mention any of the characteristics of the games during and/or after the COVID-19 pandemic.
*Articles that showed a different age range were included, but as long as they included the established age period (6 to 12 years old). Also, studies related to family members were included, as long as they were related to the topic under study
The search process was carried out on September 1, 2023. For this, the data platforms Wef of Science (WoS), Pub- med (NIH) and Scopus (Elsevier) were used. The following search terms in English, and their corresponding ones in Spanish, were used: “COVID-19” AND “play” AND “leisure” AND “children”.
The data extraction and study selection process were performed by two external researchers, who independently evaluated the possible documents identified by the review authors. The initial documents were chosen based on the title and abstract. In cases in which the title and abstract were related to the research topic, an exhaustive rea- ding of the document was carried out to determine its definitive inclusion.
An Excel spreadsheet was created to record the data of the articles that met the selection criteria, including au- thor(s), sample size, objective, study variables, instruments used, and main findings.
Figure 1 shows the PRISMA Flow Chart related to the search for documents related to the transformation of lei- sure and free time in children from 6 to 12 years old. In the initial search, a total of 55 documents were obtained, which after eliminating duplicates and applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria, were reduced to 17 docu- ments that were included in this review. 4 studies were deleted because the theme it were not related to the topic, 3 documents because the moment of analysis wasn’t during the pandemic, and finally, 2 of them were deleted because the participant’s year were not specified.
Figure 1
Diagram of the PRISMA Flow Chart
Table 3 shows the scientific articles related to the transformation of leisure and free time in children aged 6 to 12 years old, including the main characteristics of games during and after confinement because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In turn, the methodological quality of the documents is indicated by using the questionnaire of Law et al. (1998). After obtaining the scores, the documents were classified according to the scores obtained: Excellent quality (>75), Good quality (51-74.99) and Poor methodological quality (<49.99) (Sarmento et al., 2018).
46 | Influencia del Covid-19 en los modelos de juegos en niños
Author/s (Year) | Sample | Methodology | Results | Qua- lity | ||||
n | Age | Variables | Instrument | Changes in leisure and play | COVID-19 effects | Moment | ||
Moore et al. (2020) | 1503 fathers and mothers. | From 5 to 17 years old. | Socio-demographic data, ques- tionnaire on immediate changes in PA and play behaviors during COVID-19 including PA and play, sedentary time, and sleep. | Survey regarding the movement and play be- haviors of children and adolescents during the COVID-19 outbreak. | Children and youth expe- rienced a significant decrea- se in participation in PA, especially outdoor PA. An increase was experienced in the time spent using screens for leisure, as well as the use of social networks. Increased sleep time and sedentary ac- tivity time. | Confinement during the CO- VID-19 pandemic has caused chil- dren to spend more time indoors, decreasing their PA time and increasing the number of hours dedicated to sedentary activities, demonstrating an adverse effect on movement and play behaviors of Canadian children and youth. | During | A |
ISSN 2603-5928
211
Dunton et al. (2020)
Mean age 8.73 years old.
Socio-demographic data, Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on PA and sedentary behavior, Parent notifications based on changes in children’s behaviors, Changes in locations of physi- cal-sports activities, Use rates of remote services.
“Active Where” online survey.
Without the structure of school and the demands of classes, children have more time for free play.
Children do not have access to school PA, physical education, recreation time, and walking to school. Therefore, there is a se- rious problem of excessively se- dentary lifestyle that relates to overweight, obesity, type II dia- betes, and metabolic syndrome in childhood and adulthood.
Table 3
Selected documents related to the transformation of leisure and free time in children.
During A
Tulchin- Francis et al. (2021)
1310
fathers and mothers.
From 3 to 18 years old.
Socio-demographic data, time Cross-sectional online of light PA and moderate to vi- survey of the modified gorous PA, child’s adaptability to version of the “Godin the pandemic, and access to the Leisure Time Exercise
Wellbeing that extends be- yond physical fitness, in- cluding improved mental health and reduced anxiety and symptoms of depression. Furthermore, peer interac- tion during PA is essential for social development.
Impact of the pandemic on the PA and play behavior of American children to improve their PA.
During and after
A
Wang et al.
Men (n=5552)
and
From 10 to 18
community.
Gender, psychosocial status, daily activities and sources of
Non-specified
Questionnaire”.
PA and leisure for adoles- cents, psychosocial support
The school closure cut off an important channel to receive in- formation and knowledge related
During A
(2021)
Woman (n=6680).
years old.
information about COVID-19.
is good to overcome or inter-
vene in gambling crises.
to COVID-19 for school-aged
from
Time for participation in games, Questionnaire
adolescents, school dropouts, and gender differences.
and after
Dodd et al.
(2021)
149 mothers
and 96 fathers
245 of 154 children of 5 to 11 years old.
and participation of children in parents and experts in adventure games in each place. children’s games.
Mothers spend more time with their children. Parents play in nature and in adven- turous places. Additionally, play and PA creates children who are physically active when they are in their neigh- borhood or at parks.
Perceptions of risk can change traumatic events, and new ways of children’s play emerge.
During and after
B
Graber et al. (2021)
295
From 5 months to 21 years old.
Age, restricted environment, ga- mes, and related activities.
Interview.
The game supports children in isolation. Adolescents participate in creative and expressive activities. The game provided opportuni- ties for social connectivity and the development of so- cial skills. Opportunities for self-expression, creative and artistic activities to develop a part of the brain, and creative or expressive activities used in therapy and the classroom.
Barriers to play, unsafe spaces, lack of toys, lack of interaction with others, lack of time outdoors, inactivity, and boredom among children.
A
During and after
Bertrand et al. (2022)
225
Socio-demographic data, rela- From 4 to 18 tionship between the school en- years old. vironment and daily activities of
play, sleep, and leisure.
Cross-sectional quanti- tative survey of parents during the pandemic.
There was a relationship bet- The closures of school centers ween the type of education due to COVID-19 have affected (virtual or face-to-face), with the development of children and the children who remained young people. Virtual education in virtual education having had negative consequences on less time participating in ga- participation in schoolchildren’s ming activities and recreatio- leisure and gaming activities.
nal leisure activities.
During and after
A
EA, Escuela Abierta, 2024, 27, 41-57
Allen & Velija (2022)
925
From 0 to 5 years old.
Socio-demographic and econo- mic data, PA practice before and during the pandemic, money in- vested in PA practice before and during COVID-19.
nerable children.
Online survey and semi-structured inter- view.
Many parents sought to use informal play and online PA during lockdown periods, with mixed levels of success. There was a reduction in PA practice time during CO- VID-19.
Directed face-to-face activities were appreciated as more bene- ficial than virtual activities. On- line PA classes aimed at young children did not provide the type of cultivation that most parents valued, such as participation with the child, socialization through group interaction, and routine outside the home.
portunities for intervention were identified.
Gámez-Calvo, P. et al. |
47
A
During and after
Oliveira et al. (2022)
110
From 7 to 11 years old.
Socioeconomic data, children’s daily activities, children’s gene- ral well-being outcomes
A short version of the Q25 questionnaire and the KIDSCREEN-27
questionnaire
During COVID-19, the- Risks for child well-being were re was an increase in time found in relation to sedentary and spent on sedentary behaviors low stimulation profiles, especia- (screen time) and a decrease lly in socially vulnerable children, in active leisure activities and but also protective factors related games, especially among so- to active, stimulating, and adapti- cially and economically vul- ve family behaviors; therefore, op-
During and after
A
ISSN 2603-5928
126
Camas et al.
(2022).
From 3 to 17 years old.
Socioeconomic variables, family tionnaire and Strengths
Type of residence, Family work situation, educational level, va- luation of free time and play spa- ce, valuation of your recreational company, type of leisure activi- ties carried out, age, type of po- pulation, perception of playtime, perception of play spaces game, perception of playmates, type of leisure activity, screen time, mis- sing and desired aspects.
ACP and CAP ques- tionnaire.
Psychosocial and cultural. In addition, benefits related to well-being and compre- hensive development, op- portunities for socialization, resilience, expression, and regulation of adverse expe- riences, as well as a sense of protection against risk.
Mobility restrictions led to an in- crease in playing time during loc- kdown. Negative effects: excessive screen use, and reduced opportu- nities for leisure and play.
During A
Oliveira et al. (2022)
110
From 7 to 11 years old.
Health, socialization, lear- Parents with higher education had KIDSCREEN-27 Ques- ning, youth well-being.
During and after
A
Szpunar et al. (2022).
819
Mean age of 6.5 years old.
Parents’ daily routines regarding play/sport, Influence of parent demographics, and PA risk to- lerance.
Online surveys
B
During
Repeated cross-sectio- nal surveys
From 11 to 13 years old.
253
and Difficulties Ques- tionnaire.
adversity, and adaptation.
Comfort for parents when their children return to pla- ying sports, security of ha- ving the children at home, li- ving in rural areas, and, living with dogs.
higher intensity of sleep, PA, acti- ve play, online socialization, and activity with parents, and lower intensity of housework and home school.
Loss of health benefits of extracu- rricular activities, lack of interac- tion with peers, loss of socializa- tion, demands of parenting and homeschooling, fear, worry, and urban areas worsen PA.
A
During and after
Wilson et al.
(2022)
Impact of physical and sociocul- tural environments on children’s PA, sedentary behavior and play during the pandemic play in and out of school.
Students attending schools in lower socioeconomic areas may benefit from interven- tions to mitigate the increase in SB and decrease in PA ex- perienced during the pande- mic, particularly within the comprehensive school day. If in-person learning is inte- rrupted in the future, school administrators should prio- ritize recess as a scheduled movement opportunity to promote healthy social and physical behavior.
Less PA during remote recess in 2021 (M = 3.42, SD = 0.80 v. M =
2.99, SD = 0.86, p<0.05). PA outsi-
de of school decreased during the pandemic.
Kellstedt et al. (2022)
144
NS
(2019)
and 174
(2020).
Academic year, gender, parti- cipation in extracurricular ac- tivities in children, children’s participation in extracurricular activities organized by adults, and spaces.
Non-specified
Health benefits of PA: being physically active from an early age, improves cogniti- ve development and mental health, participating in mo- derately vigorous PA 60 mi- nutes a day.
Concerns about short- and long- term negative impacts related to children’s physical and mental health, changes in school, and cancellation of children’s extracu- rricular activities PA patterns and behaviors. Children in rural areas are at increased risk for obesity and other poor health outcomes that may be linked to physical in- activity and nutritional behaviors.
48 | Influencia del Covid-19 en los modelos de juegos en niños
A
During and after
Franzoni et al. (2022).
101
From 6 to 18 years old.
Gaming addiction, awareness of
reading time, height, weight, and Non-specified skin color.
Know the online gaming applications preferred by urban schoolchildren during confinement.
Online games with your friends, little attention to online classes, and multiple psychological effects.
During and after
A
years old.
536
ACP: Advanced care planning; CAP: Children and adolescent psychiatry; M: Mean; PA: Physical activity; SB: Sedentary behavior; SD:
Standard Deviation
EA, Escuela Abierta, 2024, 27, 41-57
Casey & Mckendrick (2022)
Children and
NS adolescents in school age.
Gambling in times of crisis: gam- bling in crisis, threat of gambling in times of crisis, and gambling as a remedy to the crisis.
Non-specified
The well-being of the child, the parent, and the family shared the same major contributing factor, which was family closeness. The other main predictors of well- being were related to family lei- sure time, such as increased time spent playing together, preparing meals, resting, and caring for themselves, which can inform programming and policy aimed at promoting family well-being. children and their families
Due to the COVID-19 pan- demic, the social-ecological system that supports chil- dren and families has been forced to change rapidly to meet the needs of families. One silver lining coming out of the pandemic is positive changes to family life, such as increased time spent to- gether.
daily routines and habits, pa- ging family experiences rents’ daily routines and habits. and emerging issues re-
lated to well-being.
Well-being, demographic va- open and closed ques- From 0 to 8 riables, food security, children’s tions to explore chan-
Children’s basic develop- ment, health, and well-being needs do not disappear du- ring crises, few resources to be able to play, and play can strengthen resilience and provide a sense of normality for children in crisis situa- tions.
Lack of outdoor play, and inde- pendent mobility of children to access the game, campaigns, and initiatives seek to recover the “every day” of play in children’s lives, children are affected physi- cally, emotionally, and psycholo- gically, especially in countries that have declared states of emergency and mandatory confinements, the digital game is not the same for everyone, due to the lack of re- sources.
A
During
Gámez-Calvo, P. et al. |
49
A
During and after
Hill et al.
(2023)
Questionnaire with
The results show the existence of 17 articles related to the topic under study. In the scientific literature, there are no documents that corroborate the results obtained, however, it is important to note that games and recreational activities during and after the COVID-19 pandemic have experienced a significant transformation as a result of the isolation imposed by the pandemic situation, that has caused health and socialization problems (Graber et al., 2021; Camas et al., 2022), and lack of learning opportunities for children (Oliveira et al., 2022). On the other hand, it has been observed in previous research that parents who participate in outdoor play with their children tend to have higher levels of PA compared to those who play in more restrictive or limited environments (Dodd et al., 2021). This suggests that engaging in PA in nature could be a beneficial strategy to improve people’s health and PA levels.
It is important to recognize that PA needs and preferences vary throughout child development, and this may have influenced the selection of different age ranges in the studies. Furthermore, the home isolation produced by the COVID-19 pandemic caused the loss of contacts in different socialization circles, such as educational spaces, places of leisure, and free time (Álvarez-Muñoz et al., 2023; Hernández-Beltrán et al., 2023), as well as anyone was really prepared to experience the situations caused by the pandemic.
It is essential to highlight that the child population experienced a series of significant challenges during and after the COVID-19 pandemic in relation to their basic development, health, and well-being needs (Casey & McKend- rick, 2022). These challenges arose from the exceptional circumstances and restrictions imposed by the pandemic and had a profound impact on the lives of children (Álvarez-Muñoz et al., 2023).
One of the most obvious problems is related to basic development needs. Children have fundamental needs in terms of education, socialization, PA, and emotional development (Allen & Velija, 2022). During the pandemic, restrictions on mobility and school closures affected their access to formal education, raising concerns about the educational gap and lost learning (Bertrand et al., 2022). Furthermore, the lack of social interaction with friends and classmates had an impact on their social and emotional development, which could have long-term implica- tions on their psychological well-being (Franzoni et al., 2022).
The methodology implemented in the selected documents presents a notable heterogeneity regarding the vari- ables analyzed, which reflects the complexity and breadth of the topic under study. These variables cover various aspects related to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the PA and play of children, as well as the diversity of opportunities and strategies implemented to respond to the identified social and educational restrictions.
There are variables related to the contextualization of the sample such as age (Dunton et al., 2020; Graber et al., 2021), gender (Wang et al., 2021; Kellstedt et al., 2022), type of residence, socioeconomic aspects (Oliveira et al., 2022), and, variables linked to the perception of playtime, perception of play spaces, perception of playmates, type of leisure activity (Wilson et al., 2022 ), screen time (Dodd et al., 2021; Casey & Mckendrick, 2022), aspects related to lost and desired habits and routines (Camas et al., 2022), as well as parents’ daily routines regarding play/sport (Tulchin-Francis et al., 2021), and influence of parental demographics and PA risk tolerance (Szpunar et al., 2022). These variables have a negative influence on the development of the subjects’ PA during the pandemic, as they limit free time, as well as the availability of space and time for PA. The wide variety of variables offers a compre- hensive view of how the pandemic has impacted the PA and play of children from a multidimensional perspective. This diversity of methodological approaches is essential to obtain a complete understanding of the effects of the pandemic on this population.
Regarding the findings presented in the selected articles, they show both the beneficial aspects and the adverse effects of games during and after the COVID-19 pandemic in the child population. Notably, school-age children living in rural areas experienced higher levels of PA, as they had the opportunity to participate in outdoor activi- ties in natural environments (Dodd et al., 2021). However, people who lived in urban areas suffered from excessive sedentary problems such as being overweight, obesity, type II diabetes, and metabolic syndrome (Dunton et al., 2020). However, these data are contradictory to those obtained by Kellstedt et al. (2022) since children in rural areas are at higher risk of obesity and other diseases related to physical inactivity.
Additionally, during the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a significant increase in the time that children aged 6 to 12 spent in front of screens. For this reason, it is essential to design games and activities that are safe and promote the well-being of the child population. Some of the recommendations for carrying out games before, during, and after future pandemics include outdoor activities, team sports, educational games, table games, and group activities, cultural and artistic events, as well as participation in volunteering and community projects, as long as sanitary guidelines permit it.
Finally, the results related to the quality of the selected documents show the existence of 15 studies with excellent methodological quality (score >75), and two with good methodological quality (score between 51 and 75), ac- cording to the proposal of Sarmento et al. (2018). Thus, the chosen documents that address the transformation of leisure and free time habits in the child population during and after the COVID-19 pandemic have good method- ological quality. However, more research is required in this area. Lastly, the main limitation of this study is related to the scarcity of documents available focused on the study topic and the diversity of approaches and contexts. However, this limitation can be considered a point of interest for future research, as it could serve as a basis for
establishing guidelines for action in future pandemics.
It is essential to highlight that fathers, mothers, and other family members play a crucial role in shaping healthy lifestyles for children aged 6 to 12 years old. It is strongly recommended to encourage outdoor activities and the practice of team sports as strategies to prevent psychosocial problems. The development of physical activityPA during the COVID-19 covid-19 pandemic produced a large number of benefits in the population, improving the quality of life, as well as the opportunities for physical and emotional development of the students.
It is recommended to perform interventions at the community level that include the design and implementation of programs related to PA and sports, offering participation opportunities to all children, and promoting family leisure activities. Furthermore, given the scarcity of studies and the discrepancy in the results found in the liter- ature regarding this topic, a more exhaustive and wide-ranging investigation is required. It is suggested to carry out longitudinal studies that follow children over time, before, during, and after the pandemic or other disruptive events, with the aim of generating strategies in educational and public access and information policies.
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The author Mario C. Espada was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, I.P. under Grant UID04045/2020 and Instituto Politécnico de Setúbal. Additionally, the research was partially funded by the GOERD of the University of Extremadura and the Research Vicerectory of Universidad Nacional. This study has been partially supported by the funding for research groups (GR21149) granted by the Government of Extrema- dura (Employment and Infrastructure Office—Consejería de Empleo e Infraestructuras), with the contribution of
the European Union via the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) by the Optimisation of Training and Sports Performance Research Group (GOERD) of the Faculty of Sports Sciences of the University of Extremadu- ra. Additionally, the author José M. Gamonales was supported by a grant from the Requalification Program of the Spanish University System, Field of Knowledge: Biomedical (MS-18).
INFORMACIÓN SOBRE lOS AUtORES
Luisa Gámez-Calvo. Graduate in Physical Activity and Sport Sciences from the University of Extremadura, PhD student in Sport Sciences at the University of Extremadura. Current Full-time Substitute Lecturer at the University of Extremadura. Field of research: adapted sport and inclusion.
Víctor Hernández-Beltrán. Graduate in Primary Education, mention in Physical Education. PhD student in Sports Science, University of Extremadura. Field of research: Physical activity-sport, physical education and inclusion.
Luis Felipe Castelli Correia de Campos is a full professor of pedagogy in Physical Education at the University of Bio Bio -UBB, Chile and researcher in Center for Human Motricity Sciences. Adventist University of Chile. Chillán, Chile. The main objectives of Luís Felipe’s research program is in the area of adapted physical activity with a focus on Adapted or Paralympic sports and the physical fitness of elderly people.
Luz Marina Cahapalud Narvaez. Teacher in the Sports Training Programme, Researcher of the Interdiscipli- nary Research Group in Social and Human Sciences of the Corporación Universitaria Autónoma del Cauca. Junior Researcher - Minciencia. Lines of research: physical activity and health, adapted sport, sports training, education and disability.
Mário C. Espada started the second Postdoctoral in Human Kinetics, Sports Sciences specialty, in the Facul- ty of Human Kinetics of the University of Lisbon, Portugal (FMH-UL), in 2022. He received his Ph.D. in Hu- man Kinetics, Sports Sciences in 2013 from FMH-UL. He completed the Postdoctoral in Human Kinetics, Sport Sciences specialty in 2015 at Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP, São Paulo, Brazil). He has a position as an Adjunct Professor at the Polytechnic Institute of Setúbal, teaching in Higher Education School (ESE-IPS) and Higher School of Health (ESS-IPS). He is an effective member of the Sport Physical Activity and Health Research & INnovation CenTer (SPRINT) and a collaborating member of the Interdisciplinary Centre for the Study of Hu-
man Performance (CIPER), at the FMH-UL, Comprehensive Health Research Centre (CHRC), at the University of Évora, and Life Quality Research Center (CIEQV). He has published several articles in specialized journals and regularly attends and communicates at international technical and scientific events.
José M. Gamonales. Graduate in Physical Activity and Sport Sciences. Graduate in Primary Education, mention in Physical Education. PhD in Sport Sciences, University of Extremadura. Currently PhD Contracted at the Uni- versity of Extremadura, Faculty of Education and Psychology in Badajoz. Field of research: Physical activity-sport, physical education and inclusion.