Parental roles comparing boys with girls within three play contexts.

How Parents Play: Play Style as a Function of Gender of Parent, Gender of Child, and Play Context

This study observed 81 children playing with their mothers and fathers separately to examine how parent and child gender, as well as play context, influenced parental play roles. The findings revealed complex interactions between gender and play context, with parents adopting different roles (director, facilitator, or co-player) based on the child’s gender and the type of game, highlighting the significant impact of these factors on parent-child play dynamics.

July 2024 · Chao Liu, Amanda W. Harrist, Jeffrey T. Cookston, Sonia Carrillo