Is all play the same? Contribution of maternal and paternal playfulness to children´s regulatory skill

• In Event: Maternal and parental playfulness with their young children. Data from the U.S., Netherlands, and Chile

Abstract

Introduction: There is consensus that play is fundamental for children’s development (Lillard et al., 2013). Research suggest that pretend play could be crucial to the development of language and regulatory skills, but the evidence is still limited and more research is needed (Singer et al., 2009). Most studies have focused in the quality of the mother-child interaction (e.g., Tamis Le-Monda et al., 2004) and there is little information on the type of play in which low-income parents engage with their young children and how parent-child play relates to child development. Data suggest that parents who use creativity, humor, and curiosity while playing with their children promote better language and regulatory skill in their children and that the effect is different for maternal and paternal playfulness (Malin et al., 2017). However, it is not clear how the quality and type of parental play relate to other aspects of the parent-child relationship (i.e., sensitivity, intrusiveness) to influence child development.
Understanding how parent- child play contributes to child development is critical for interventions because play is an activity that is fun and enjoyable, and is relatively low-cost and accessible (Evans & English, 2002).
Aims: We asked (1) what is the quality and type of play mothers and fathers display with their children? (2) how does playfulness relate to other dimension of parenting (sensitivity, intrusiveness); (3) do the type of play, playfulness and the quality of the interaction relate to children´s regulatory skills?
Study population and methods: Participant were 115 three-year-old children and their mothers and fathers. Parent-child interactions were videotaped and coded for playfulness using the Parental Playfulness System (PPS; Atzaba- Poria et al., 2014) and for positive and negative aspects of parenting using the PARCHISY (Deater-Deckard, 2000). Children´s regulatory skills were assessed with a computerized battery of executive function (MEFS; Carlson & Zelazo, 2014) and a delay of gratification task (Carlson, 2003).
Results: Results suggest that mothers and fathers engaged in similar levels of playfulness with their children (Table 1). Father and mothers who were more playful displayed higher levels of scaffolding (r=.20, p<.05; r=.31, p<.01 respectively) and sensitivity (r=.31, p<.01; r=.19, p<.05). Neither maternal nor parental playfulness was related to children´s EF.
When analyzing the parent-child interaction by type of play, data show that most parents played in a conventional way with their children (Table 2). Result from ANOVA show that type of play displayed by father (but not by mothers) had an effect on children´s regulatory skills. Our results suggest that when fathers displayed conventional play with their children (i.e., use of the game/ toy in a conventional way such as completing a puzzle) children develop better EF skills. There were no differences between children from fathers displaying low levels of play or imaginary play.
Discussion. The finding that fathers and mothers’ playfulness did not relate to children´s regulatory skills but that paternal type of play did, extends prior research on the effect of parental playfulness on children´s development and differences between mothers and fathers.

Authors

• Daniela Aldoney, Universidad del Desarrollo (UDD)
  Presenting Author

• Fernanda Prieto, Universidad del Desarrollo (UDD)
  Non-Presenting Author