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Assessing the Coherence of Parents' Short Narratives Regarding their Child Using the Five-Minute Speech Sample Procedure
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A Systematic Review of Father-Child Play Interactions and the Impacts on Child Development

Erin Louise Robinson1, Jennifer StGeorge2, Emily Elsa Freeman1

  • 1School of Psychology, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW 2308, Australia.

Children (Basel, Switzerland)
|June 2, 2021
PubMed

Insights

Father-child play significantly impacts child development. This review clarifies which play types and outcomes are most studied, aiding parenting resources and interventions.

Area of Science:

  • Child Development
  • Parent-Child Interactions
  • Psychology

Background:

  • Father-child play engagement is recognized for its role in child development.
  • Research clarity on prevalent play types and associated developmental outcomes is lacking.
  • Understanding these associations is crucial for targeted support.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To systematically review literature on father-child play interactions.
  • To examine the association between these interactions and child developmental outcomes.
  • To focus on children aged 0-10 years.

Main Methods:

  • Systematic literature review methodology.
  • Extensive database searches yielding 1622 abstracts.
  • Screening and full-text review of publications, resulting in 39 included studies.

Main Results:

  • Identified varying impacts of paternal play behaviors across different play types.
  • Observed some consistent impacts of paternal play behaviors regardless of play type.
  • Highlighted the complexity of the father-child play-development relationship.

Conclusions:

  • Findings inform the development of targeted interventions for father involvement.
  • Implications for creating effective parenting resources and support programs.
  • Emphasizes the need for nuanced understanding of father-child play dynamics.

Keywords:
behaviourchildchild developmentcognitiondyadsemotionfatherparentingsocialsystematic review

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