ABSTRACT

In the modern industrial world, families and schools share the responsibility for supervising children and youth. Yet there is a gap of 20 to 25 hours per week between adolescents’ school schedules and parents’ work schedules (U.S. Department of Education and Justice, 2000), leaving 25% to 31% of waking hours during the school week that may not be covered by either institution. The other chapters of this volume concern various structured activities for children and youth that may fill this time. The present chapter provides a context of comparison to those chapters by focusing on unstructured leisure during the after-school hours.