Safe Places in Domestic Spaces: Two-Year-Olds at Play in their Homes

Abstract

This paper contributes to the growing research literature on children's ‘intimate geographies’ by focusing on two-year-old children's explorations and play within the domestic spaces of their homes. It draws on video data showing three young girls playing in selected home spaces i.e. a family grocery shop in Peru, the upstairs rooms of a house in America, and the balcony of an apartment in Italy. Through analysis of short video sequences the paper describes the way children use and invest meaning in these spaces. It is argued that the three domestic locations can be seen as ‘safe places’, in both material and personal senses; and that they enable children's sense of belonging, foster their ‘emplaced knowledge’ and build on their confidence to explore spaces further afield.

Keywords:

• Play
• domestic spaces
• video data
• children's place-making

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Ann Cameron and Nuala Hancock for their helpful feedback on an earlier draft of this paper.