IDENTIFICACIONES DE RIESGOS LABORALES EN LOS EQUIPOS DE TRABAJO

Amanda was one of the more active users of the Digital Toybox, posting new content to the platform 10 times over the course of the deployment and commenting on the content posted by others eight times. In the second interview, conducted after 3 weeks, Amanda spoke about her use of the Digital Toybox, at first speaking about her comfort sharing content on the platform:

“I think it’s fine. Like who can actually access the site? It’s just you, me, and other parents. That’s fine with me. I wouldn’t really want someone who doesn’t have kids seeing it because that’s a bit uncomfortable. As long as access is tightly controlled then I’m happy for to share what I do with other people, even if I don’t know them”.

She was prolific in creating and sharing content and, while keen to share content as much as possible, did find it to be very time-consuming. As she notes,

“I have tried to put something up at least once per week, sometimes more often if I can. But I have to be honest, I don’t always think about it and sometimes I just don’t feel up to it. It’s a lot of effort if I do want to put something up”.

A prominent challenge for the parents when creating video content was how useful it was. As the parents tried to create and share activities that were sustained, they found it difficult to incorporate video in to explaining the activity. Amanda discusses:

“Have you had a look at the activities we have shared yourself? We make quite detailed posts, like those instructables things. They aren’t complex or anything but there is a bit of explaining to do. I wanted to explain that through a video but I didn’t really know

how to do that. I didn’t want to record a series of short videos detailing each step as that was a little too time consuming. So instead I made a post and photographs that were step-by-step and then I made a short video at the end of Emily enjoying herself”.

Creating and sharing new content proved quite time-consuming for Amanda and often occurred in two stages across the day. She would document the activity she is playing with Emily at the time but then would have to wait, either for Emily’s naptime or while she is asleep at night, to create and share the post on the Digital Toybox:

“You see, I can’t really do it in the moment. I’ll take some photographs while we are playing or record a video but then when it comes to putting it all together, writing the description, it takes time. So I have to wait until she’s asleep in the afternoon or in the evening but even then, sometimes I just, other things happen and I forget about it. Or I’m just too tired. I think I posted early on and then just a few days ago. I do need to make some time for it but it’s not much and I don’t have to think too much about what I’m writing. It almost feels like a professional responsibility for me. My work needs me to talk about engaging with your children, providing suggestions for what you could do. I feel like I should back up that talk too”.

This difficulty was reflected in the frequency of Amanda’s posts. Where she posted twice a week for the first 2 weeks of the deployment, this became less frequent as time went on. Amanda also felt uneasy with the concept of play and frequently mentioned her discomfort with it. She suggests,

“I’m not good at ‘playing’ – if you ask me how I play with Emily, then I can’t really tell you. I know the Toybox is about sharing how we play but I don’t know, I just find that a bit uncomfortable. If you ask me to show you how I play with her, then I don’t think I can. But I can show you the things we do, they are like activities but not play”.

Amanda felt that she lacked a natural ability to play, often saying how she was not very creative and was envious of other mothers she had met who seemed more spontaneous and creative. Instead, Amanda created the activity packs that she keeps at home. The resources shared by Amanda mainly comprised of Emily engaging with one of the activity boxes, combined together in simple ways to provide a compelling activity for Emily. For example, the “Matching Activity”, posed by Emily involves some colourful, simple plastic shapes.

Initially, Amanda drew around these shapes on a piece of paper, using the same colours as the shapes. After sharing a photograph of the shapes and their outlines drawn on the paper, Amanda’s post describes the activity:

“I then sat with Emily and let her explore the shapes. She recognized the butterfly and enjoyed making it ‘fly’ around the room. Then she started to put the shapes on the paper. I was surprised by the number she was able to match, though I think the colours helped”.

The shared resource is completed with two photographs of Amanda and Emily sitting together, as Emily matches the shapes to the outlines on the paper. In the exit interview, Amanda reflected again on her discomfort with the idea of playing:

“I did wonder if after being on the Toybox, seeing other parents’ ideas and how they play, whether I would be more comfortable just playing, in like a more spontaneous or unplanned way but I don’t really think I am. I still rely on planning in advance, driving Paul crazy thinking about what I can put together to use with Emily. It has helped, obviously there has been some really nice comments from some of the other mums about the posts I share. But I still need to plan and be prepared, otherwise I just flounder”.

This suggests that the concept of play may be a burden for many parents. They are looking for the perfect thing to do but missing the value of just being present, active, and engaged, physically and mentally, with their child when the moment presents itself