COMMENTARY ON FATHERS' PLAY: MEASUREMENT, CONCEPTUALIZATION, CULTURE, AND CONNECTIONS WITH CHILD DEVELOPMENT

Understanding Father-Child Joint Play Experience Using a Convergent Mixed-Methods Design

IMPORTANCE

Research on the characteristics of father-child play is limited, and how fathers perceive this experience and its contribution to children's development and the parent-child relationship is insufficiently described.

OBJECTIVE

To explore associations between fathers' own playfulness, their supportiveness of child playfulness, and child playfulness and fathers' perceptions of their joint play experiences.

DESIGN

Convergent mixed-methods design.

SETTING

Family homes.

PARTICIPANTS

The participants were 57 father-child dyads who resided in a metropolitan area. Children were ages 2 to 5 yr. Interviews with 11 fathers (ages 25-56 yr) were included in the qualitative analysis.

OUTCOMES AND MEASURES

Fathers completed a background questionnaire and the Short Measure of Adult Playfulness (SMAP) and participated in a semistructured interview. Fifteen minutes of video-recorded joint play were scored using the Parent/Caregiver Support of Children's Playfulness (PCSCP) and the Test of Playfulness (ToP).

RESULTS

Fathers' own playfulness as measured with the SMAP was not related to their child's playfulness as measured with the ToP; however, their supportive behavior as measured with the PCSCP was associated with their child's playfulness. Fathers recognized the benefits of joint play for their child's development.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE

The current findings help fill the gap in research linking fathers' own playfulness and supportiveness during joint play and their child's playfulness with fathers' perceptions of this experience. What This Article Adds: Understanding fathers' perceptions and behaviors can further enhance service delivery to children and families through interprofessional work to benefit parent-child relationships as well as child development.

A Systematic Review of Father-Child Play Interactions and the Impacts on Child Development

Father-child play engagement has been linked to a variety of child developmental outcomes. However, the most prevalent types of play and child developmental outcomes utilised in research remains unclear. The aim of this study was to systematically review the literature on father-child play interactions and the association with child developmental outcomes for children aged 0-10 years. Database searches generated 1622 abstracts that matched the specified search criteria. Abstract screening and full-text review resulted in 39 included publications. The systematic review revealed that while some paternal play behaviours resulted in different impacts across play types, others reported similar impacts. The findings of this review have implications for potential interventions and parenting resources.