Leisure time with families in Bañado Tacumbú (Asunción), 1973

Abstract

Data from a census (1973) of families in Bañado Tacumbú (an area flooded by the annual flooding of the Paraguay River) in Asunción recorded the activities carried out during leisure time (LT) by fathers, mothers, young people, and children.
The purpose of this analysis was to differentiate FTA activities by gender and age group and transversally between the outside world and the home, complementing the above. The approach addresses the unequal patterns of these activities according to gender and age groups, with the key and necessary differentiation between domestic activities and those in the outside world.
It is an exploratory study with a quantitative methodology. It is exploratory in nature because the social, geographical and historical background is unknown.
The main results were, on the one hand, that fathers' TL activities were mostly outside the home rather than inside, while the opposite was true for mothers. A significant example is fathers going out (outside the home and unaccompanied) to the football field or fishing, while mothers do not go out alone anywhere. On the other hand, the youth group divides its activities between sports (outdoors, presumably) and responsibilities at home, compared to children who almost exclusively play (at home, presumably).
The main conclusion was the relevance of the gender and age group approach in the domestic and outdoor social space for the activities carried out in the TL by fathers, mothers, young people, and children. This empirical verification constitutes a basic link for further research.