Paternal participation in toddlers' pretend play

Abstract

Abstract 32 toddlers were videotaped in a laboratory setting while playing alone and with their fathers to understand how fathers contribute to children's early pretend play, to explore the extent to which their social play involves pretend, to describe father‐child pretend play, and to examine fathers' beliefs about children's play. Children exhibited more exploratory play alone and engaged in more symbolic level play with their fathers. Sex differences were found in fathers' play behaviors and in the thematic content of play episodes. Fathers used explicit guidance with sons and implicit guidance with daughters. Father–son pairs engaged in vehicle/tool play and father–daughter pairs played domestic themes. The results suggest that the early differential socialization of boys and girls is apparent in father–toddler pretend play.

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