Comparison of the Effects of Children’s Daily Balance and Poor Household Status on Children’s Happiness During the COVID-19 Period

Abstract

This study investigated how children in Korea spent their daily lives during the COVID-19 period, and how children's feelings of happiness change depending on whether they are in poverty or their daily life balance. The ‘2020 Children’s Life Time Use Survey Data’ administered by ChildFund Korea were analyzed, and the difference in happiness was examined depending on the daily life balance and the presence of poor household groups. In addition, the daily differences of children in each group were confirmed with a graph visualized by representative sequence analysis. This study found that children’s happiness differed according to the existence of poor households and whether they were in daily life balance during the COVID-19 period. In particular, within the same household income group (non-poor or poor), the happiness of children with a balanced daily life was higher. In the case of children having a balanced daily life from non-poor families, it was found that after school life was positively engaged in various activities. On the other hand, the after-school lifestyle of children from poor families with unbalanced daily life appeared monotonous in contrast, and the disadvantages of children from poor families continued even during the COVID-19 era. This study also found that the guarantee of daily balance is the most important for all children, regardless of their poverty status, to promote their happiness. In particular, in order to guarantee children's right to develop healthily and live happily, it is suggested that daily happiness should be provided to children through efforts to ensure daily balance even during the disaster of COVID-19.