Hurray! Vacations have started!

School is out, and pupils are sighing with relief. Now they can catch up on their sleep and relax. Although older pupils and students still have to write their exams, the summer vacation are not far way.

There is a whole summer ahead of freedom, new sensations, new experiences, and getting older. Leisure is for using it independently, of course within the limits of the permissible. But young people sometimes do things that exceed the limits defined by their parents and society.

What do Ukrainian children do in their leisure time? This is not just a matter of curiosity. It would be useful for adults, particularly parents, to know what their children get up to during the summer vacations.

Recently, experts from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) completed a project entitled “Creating a Carefree Environment for the Youth of Ukraine.” Its results are more than fascinating. The experts surveyed 1,802 respondents in order to acquire a reliable picture: they interviewed different groups of young people from Zhytomyr (north), Kherson (south), Donetsk (east), and Poltava (center) oblasts, as well as Kyiv and the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. A total of 267 respondents were surveyed in each oblast and 200 in Kyiv. The results allowed the experts to compose a “hit parade” of the ways children occupy themselves.

To the question, “Where do you most often spend your free time?” 47 percent replied that they relax outside in nature. It is cheap and accessible, which is why this leisure activity is the most popular. Going to cafes is in second place, according to 37 percent of respondents. This statistic does not address schoolchildren so much as educated and working young people, because you need money to go to cafes. Thirty-three percent of surveyed youth have hobbies (not specified). Clubs and cinemas are next.

The study points to a disturbing statistic: 28 percent of respondents said that in the summer they simply roam the streets of their city. Obviously, this choice stems from boredom, and the purpose of hanging around is “to look at others, to show yourself,” and to find some adventure. Those who like to hang around city streets the most are schoolchildren, and the least - students, who have more interesting ways of occupying themselves.

A quarter of the respondents work out, with boys outnumbering girls in this category. It is significant that this pastime is most popular in Donetsk oblast (32 percent) and among the residents of Zhytomyr region (36 percent.) Fourteen percent of respondents will take care of their appearance and health this summer (probably in order to impress their classmates or roommates). Most of the young people who gave this answer were girls.

Twelve percent of young people occupy themselves with spiritual self-improvement. Somewhat unexpectedly, fewer young people (10 percent) go to concerts featuring popular singers than those who are engaged in spiritual growth. Every tenth young Ukrainian goes to the library during vacations. The largest number of bookworms lives in the Crimea, where the sea no longer amazes young people, who want a break from the daily bustle. Only 4-5 percent of young people visit art exhibits or attend concerts of classical music (including organ).

As for boys and girls in Kyiv, they love the theater more than their peers in other regions (19 percent) and they are least apt to devote their leisure time to hobbies (25 percent). Another caveat: preferences aside, more young people in other regions would visit theaters, cafes, or discos if they had real possibilities for enjoying these types of activities. Thus, the type of pastime dictates real possibilities for young people and what a city or village can offer them. Most young people (58 percent) think that they have the right to decide on how to spend their free time, but 12 percent complained about the lack of free time.