Introduction
Daily life activities are referred to activities that take care of the body [1]. These activities include toilet hygiene, urinary and fecal control, personal hygiene and makeup, bathing and showering, eating and feeding, dressing, and functional mobility. Other daily activities include caring for personal belongings and learning how to express sexual needs. Active participation in daily life activities has several benefits for the child, including the maintenance and growth of physical activity and health. These activities include strength, endurance, range of motion, coordination, memory, sequence, conceptual arrangement, body image, cleanliness (hygiene), and problem-solving in meaningful and purposeful work [4].
Gender may be a factor in choosing activities. Overall, boys are more active at home and outside the house and are much less watched by adults than girls at their age. Boys participate more in coaching sports than girls and watch more TV. On the other hand, girls spend more time doing homework and household chores [8]. Hofferth and Sandberg stated that gender differences in activities are evident in the first year of school [9]. Also, in Martha’s study, men and women were different in job-related, educational, and homework-related tasks, but they also differed in the type of activities related to the home and the kind of leisure activities [10]. These differences may also be present in children. 
Developmentally, systematic changes in children’s activities, such as spending lower time on sleeping, eating and playing, and high school and other structured activities, occur with increasing age and adulthood [9]. Research also shows age differences in children’s activities. For example, ninth-grade girls spend less time on homework than fifth-grade girls, while boys spend the same amount of time on educational activities in both age groups [8]. However, no study has specifically examined the effect of age on daily life activities. Another indicator that can affect children’s daily activities is the aspects related to the time texture, especially the weekdays versus the weekends. Awareness of the difference between daily life activities on weekdays compared to weekends can be the basis for intervention and counseling services in children [12].
Based on what was said, we investigated the time allotted to daily life activities in terms of weekdays, age, and gender. We also examined the effect of age, sex, and weekdays indicators on the daily life activities of healthy children under five years old in Isfahan City, Iran.
Materials and Methods
In this descriptive-analytical study, the healthy children under five years old living in Isfahan City, Iran, were included. The sampling was done by a multistage, stratified, cluster, and random sampling method. From all 14 districts of Isfahan, the district with the largest population was selected from the economically, culturally, and socially equal bases. Then, from different age groups and according to the population proportion of that age group, 240 girls and boys were randomly selected. Also, the age categories of under 1 month, 2-3 months, 4-6 months, 7-12 months, 1-2 years, and 3 to 5 years had an equal number. The inclusion criteria were living in Isfahan, being in a healthy mental and physical state, being up to 5 years old, accepting participation in the study, and taking informed consent of children’s parents. The exclusion criteria were severe mental or physical disorders that required intensive care, living in care centers, nurseries, boarding schools, etc., and a tendency to withdraw from the study. After selecting the participants, their parents were informed about the study. After expressing their initial desire to participate in the study, they were presented with a signed informed consent form. 
During the preparation interview, a demographic questionnaire was completed, and data related to the use of time were collected using the time scale of yesterday. Then, the chronograph form was given to the caregivers for the information of the weekend, along with its training and introduction. Finally, the necessary arrangements were made for returning the forms. Afterward, the returned data were interpreted, and the quality of the data was confirmed (in cases where there was ambiguity in the clarity of some information, a telephone interview was used). Finally, the data were edited (if necessary based on a telephone interview). The desired statistics were calculated in the next step, and the study’s findings were analyzed and recorded. 
To collect research data, the following tools were used: a demographic questionnaire made by the researcher and a time diary scale. In this method, research participants are asked to provide a complete report of their activities (along with a report of each activity’s start and end time) for a specific period of time [13].
The distribution of study data in each category was investigated using descriptive statistics, including frequency tables and graphs. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was used to check the normality of data distribution. Then the difference between the variables in cases where the data met the conditions for using parametric tests (including normal distribution) is a 1-way analysis of variance. In cases where the data did not meet the conditions for using parametric tests depending on the number of variables, the Kruskal-Wallis or Mann-Whitney U test was used. 
Results
On weekdays, the longest time with an average of 150.59 min/d was devoted to eating (and drinking) activities. The shortest time with an average of 0.02% per day was dedicated to personal care. While on weekends, among the components of daily life activities, the longest time was spent on eating and drinking and the shortest time on other daily activities (Table 1).


As shown in Table 2, in different age groups on weekdays, infants of 0-1 months old with an average of 273.35 min/d have devoted the most time to daily life activities, and children of 25-60 months old devoted the least time with an average of 154.65 min/d.


On the weekends, infants in the age group of 0-1 months spend the most time on daily life activities, and children in the age group of 25-60 months spend the least time on daily life activities (Table 3).


Girls and boys spend the most time on eating and drinking and the least caring for personal belongings as part of their daily life activities on weekdays (Figure 3).

On the other hand, girls and boys have spent the most time on eating and drinking among the components of daily life activities on the weekend, while boys and girls have spent the least time on other daily activities that are not classified in this study (Figure 4).

The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was used to examine the data distribution. The results showed that the data related to the time spent in daily life activities, both on weekdays and weekends, do not have a normal distribution (P=0.004). The Mann-Whitney U test results showed no significant difference between weekdays and weekends allocated to daily life activities. On weekends, the mean allocated time to daily life activities was more than weekdays (187.77±81.55 minutes). 
The 1-way analysis of variance showed a significant difference between the duration of using daily life activities in different age groups on weekdays and weekends (Figures 1 and 2).

Based on the results of the 1-way analysis of variance test (days of the week: P=0.982 and weekends: P=0.833), there is no significant difference between the time that girls and boys under the age of 5 living in Isfahan spend on daily life activities in one day, whether on weekdays or weekends. 
Finally, the Mann-Whitney U test results showed a significant difference between the time allotted to the daily life activities on weekdays and the weekends (P=0.004).
Discussion and Conclusion
The overall purpose of this study was to investigate the time allotted to daily life activities based on the day of the week, gender, and age.
On weekdays, from 187.88 minutes dedicated to daily life activities, the longest time with an average of 150.59 min/d was allotted to eating (and drink) and the shortest with an average of 0.02% per day to the care of personal belongings, which is clearly not the case in the age range of the present study. On weekends, on average, the longest time is spent on eating (and drinking) and the shortest on other daily activities.
The present study’s findings showed that on both weekdays and weekends, children of 0-1 months old spend more time on eating due to poor coordination between sucking, swallowing, and breathing [2]. However, this time decreases until the age of 4-6 months with increasing coordination and increasing motor skills. From the age of 7-12 months, the duration of eating (and drinking) increases, probably because infants from 6 months of age need to receive complementary foods in addition to breastfeeding [15]. Over time, the total feeding time decreases to a minimum at the age of 24-60 months due to the reduction in breastfeeding time. Both on weekdays and weekends, at the age of 0-1 months, more time is spent on daily life activities than other age groups, and decreases with age 4-6 months and increases from 7-12 months, relatively and decreases again from 25-60 months. This changing trend maybe because the duration of daily life activities has reduced with increasing age and devoting more time to other areas of life and increasing the child’s shared work. It is noteworthy that a similar trend has been reported in the study of Sourtiji et al. [12, 14, 16, 21].
In the present study, the time devoted to daily life activities is a function of the time dedicated to eating and drinking. According to the study of Hofferth and Sandberg [9], eating in the age group of less than two years (11:38 min) is more than that in the 3-5 years age group (9:22 min). This decreasing trend continues until the age of 12 years. Tirella et al. examined the Russian children’s time under four years of age; children aged 1-12 months devoted less time (17.7 min) to daily life activities [26]. Furthermore, with increasing age in children of 13-24 months old (33.1 min) and 25-48 months (38 min), the duration of daily life activities has increased. It was noteworthy that most of the children’s time after sleep was devoted to daily life activities [17].
According to the test results, there is no significant difference between the girls and boys under five years old living in Isfahan regarding the time spent on daily life activities in a day, whether weekdays or weekends [12, 14, 16]. The present study showed that girls and boys spend most of their time eating (and drinking) activities on weekdays and weekends. On weekdays, boys spend more time on eating and bathing than girls, and girls spend more time on cleaning and personal hygiene than boys. However, girls spend more time taking care of personal belongings on weekends than boys. Sourtiji et al. found that girls and boys spent most of their daily life activities on eating (and drinking) on weekdays and weekends [12, 14, 16, 21]. In Yue and Baxter’s study, boys spent more time watching the screen than girls, while Sourtiji et al.’s study [12, 14, 16, 21] in children under 5 showed that girls spend more time watching the screen sleeping. In Posner and Vandell’s study [10], girls spent more time on academic and social activities than boys in white children and black children, while boys spent more time playing sports and computers. The study of Hofferth and Sandberg [9] also confirms this finding.
The test results showed a significant difference between the time allocated to the total daily life activities on weekdays and weekends due to the higher daily life activities on weekends. Because of the father’s presence at home, it is normal for the duration of daily life activities to increase. However, Sourtiji et al. found no significant difference between daily life activities on weekdays and weekends [14, 21]. In Baxter’s study, more time was spent on personal care, including eating, drinking, bathing, personal hygiene, etc., on weekdays than weekends. The time allotted for eating and drinking was the same on weekdays and weekends, while bathing and personal hygiene were longer on weekdays than on weekends. According to Baxter, sleep on weekdays was more significant than on weekends [19]. A study by Yue and Baxter [18] found that Australian children aged 4 to 14 years spent more time watching the screen on weekdays than on weekends.

Ethical Considerations
Compliance with ethical guidelines
This article was done with the code of ethics IR.USWR.REC.1397.078 and the participants signed a written consent form and were fully aware of the research process. The participants were allowed to leave the research, and all their information remained confidential.

Funding
This article is taken from the master’s thesis of Niloufar Shirani, an occupational therapy student at the Department of Occupational Therapy, University of Social Welfare and Rehabilitation Sciences, and has no financial support.

Authors' contributions
Conceptualization: Seyed Ali Hosseini, Houshang Mirzaei, Hossein Sourtiji, and Niloufar Shirani; Methodology and research: Samaneh Hosseinzadeh, Niloufar Shirani, Seyed Ali Hosseini, Houshang Mirzaei, and Hossein Sourtiji; Writing and Editing: Niloufar Shirani, Seyed Ali Hosseini, Houshang Mirzaei, Hossein Sortiji, and Samaneh Hosseinzadeh.

Conflict of interest
The authors declared no conflict of interest.

Acknowledgments
Many thanks to health centers No. 1 and 2 of Isfahan Province which cooperated to collect information. Special thanks to our colleague Ms. Fahimeh Ebrahimi who helped us a lot in conducting the interviews.