All articles

Background. As AI becomes embedded in children’s lives, from entertainment to learning, the role of content is transforming—from passive consumption to active, system-embedded dialogue.

Methods. This article draws from content development experience at Mako Kids and research-led design at KidsAI. It integrates global studies, co-design fieldwork, and expert interviews to analyze how children interpret AI tools and how design influences developmental outcomes.

Results. Findings show that children anthropomorphize AI agents and that system behavior often teaches unintended lessons. Core principles of quality content—including age-appropriateness, holistic thinking, inclusion, safety, play-based learning, and cultural relevance—remain essential in AI-driven environments. Structured prompts, ethical voice design, and scaffolded interactions are key design features in KidsAI’s work, including the development of Olly, KidsAI’s assistant for kids.

Conclusions. Content must now function as ethical infrastructure in sociotechnical systems. Designers must avoid emotional simulation and focus on supporting autonomy, reflection, and cognitive safety. AI should guide—not mimic—human relationships, with clarity and respect.

Background. Today’s common typologies and categories of children’s toys are mainly decided by the manufacturers and retailers of children’s products. Such categorizations are not based on a theoretical understanding of child development and therefore cannot provide information about the opportunities that toys provide for the young.

Objective. This study proposed three criteria for categorizing toys based on the cultural-historical approach: their degree of realism; their degree of anthropomorphism; and their degree of detail. These criteria were chosen as a result of an analysis of theoretical works carried out in the framework of cultural-historical approach.

Design. The proposed criteria were tested through an experiment measuring children’s toy preferences. The participants were 129 children of ages 3-4 years. Experimental data confirmed that most children do prefer realistic and detailed toys rather than those with fewer of these properties. The contribution of socio-demographic factors and the children’s individual developmental indicators to their toy preference was also analyzed.

Results. The study revealed that among various socio-demographic factors, only the child’s gender and the number of siblings in the family acted as significant predictors for the toy preferences. None of child’s developmental characteristics (non-verbal intelligence, executive functions, and emotional understanding) were found to be significant predictors of preference for particular toys.

Conclusions. The assumption that toys can be assessed in terms of their realism and degree of detail found empirical support. The results of this study may be useful in designing further research and in the practical issue of toy selection for children age 3-4 years.

Background. As educational systems around the globe increasingly focus on delivering outcomes and evidence of early childhood education, questions are asked about how increasing the cognitive load on children in preschool settings impacts their development.

Objective. To better understand this problem, a five-year programmatic study was funded by the Australian Research Council with the objective of researching conceptual play as an intervention, studying imagination in play and imagination in science, engineering, and technology.

Design. The study design featured 3,000 teachers, 100 families, and 120 focus infants and toddlers in Australia who were followed for five years.

Results. The study is currently underway. This paper gives an overview and conceptualisation of the research, and the midterm findings. The project expects to generate new knowledge about the concept formation of infants, toddlers, and pre-schoolers under the conditions of a Conceptual PlayWorld in play-based settings and homes.

Conclusion. The projected outcomes are expected to include understanding about how concepts can be intentionally taught in play settings and learned at home for particular cultural age periods. Significant benefits will include increased knowledge of how exposure to these concepts in the formative years affects children’s development.

Drawing on sociocultural theorizing, this case study investigates and unpacks the qualities of scientific play during children’s inquiry-based science activities framed by imagination and play (i.e. Poetry Science). The data were gathered in Finnish preschool groups with children aged five to six years old (N= 31) over a five-week period. The data consist of video recordings, observational field notes, and artifacts, subjected to multimodal analysis. The results show that scientific play that manifested throughout young children’s inquiry process has the following four characteristics: (i) creating and maintaining an imaginary science situation, (ii) assigning new meanings to science objects and processes, (iii) combining imaginary situations and problem solving, and (iv) engaging in science talk in an imaginary situation. The study shows how imagination and play are important elements of children’s science inquiry, with implications for early science education.

The relevance of the topic of the article. Over the past 10 years, the level of development of the play of modern preschoolers continues to remain low. The researchers note the existence of different interpretations of the concept of “play“, which complicates the formation of a dialogue and provokes a gap between the declared value of the play and real practice. However, one of the possible reasons for the low level of development of the play in studies from different countries may also be the limitations of existing methods of studying the play. To conduct research on the conditions of the development of the play and its influence on children’s development, a special role is played by the selection of diagnostic techniques that should make it possible to see play in development.

The aim of the study: to analyze the advantages and limitations of existing diagnostic methods for children’s play.

Description of the research progress. In total, 18 methods were selected, the analysis included a comparison of different tools in terms of the possibility of assessing the development of play according to the following parameters: the method of studying the play, the features of the procedure and conditions of observation, the role of the observer, the evaluated aspects of children’s play.

Research results. A number of techniques have been identified that are most suitable for a comprehensive assessment of play, including for evaluating a developed play. The key deficiencies of existing methods were also identified: the contradiction of the evaluation procedure to the features of spontaneous play, the lack of an integrated approach to the study and focus on the affective side of the play, identifying only the current level of development of the play without taking into account its potential capabilities. The development of tools that allow us to see the play in development is a challenge for modern researchers.

The relevance of the topic of the article. Support for the role-playing game of preschool children is going through a crisis, largely associated with a change in the content of children’s experience. Research that consider the possibility of reflecting literature experience in a role-playing game are few. At the same time, their analysis shows that such experience can have a significant impact on the content and structure of the role-playing games of preschoolers.

The aim of the research was to study the possibilities of reflecting the literature experience of children, received in the family, on the nature of the construction of role-playing games.

Description of the research progress. The sample consisted of 15 children from 4 to 7 years old and 15 mothers who are regular participants in role-playing games organized in the context of non-formal preschool education (community for supporting role-playing games). In the beginning, a sequence of reading fairy tales to children was organized with the family. The first of the tales is based on the external confrontation of warring heroes, and the second is based on the internal conflict of the heroes and their search for the place in the world. Further, 6 role-playing games were organized supported by the plots of fairy tales based on the model of building a two-stroke game (L.I. Elkoninova). The experimenter motivated the children to play with his involvement in the plot of the game and the support of the two-stroke structure of the fairy tale plot. At the final stage, the features of the reflection of reading experience in a plot-based role-playing game were analyzed according to specially developed criteria.

Research results. It was found that a fairy tale plot, in which there is a confrontation between two warring parties, often causes negative emotions in children in the process of reading and, as a result, a reluctance to get involved in a game according to a given plot. A fairy tale plot, where instead of an external confrontation there is an internal conflict of heroes, it evokes positive emotions and research interest in children, which leads to the desire to actively participate in a role-playing game based on this plot, to bring their own vision and meaning into the storyline.

Conclusions. Role-playing game based on a fairy-tale plot allows children 4-6 years old to reach a new level of development of play activity. Changes were recorded in in-game interaction, the level of the game design, its stability and implementation. The greatest growth in game indicators was noted in role-playing based on a fairy tale plot, in which there was no confrontation between good and evil heroes, the smallest growth was observed in games based on a fairy tale plot based on an external conflict of heroes.

The article discusses the problem of reduced play activity of a modern preschool. An overview of the research on the importance of the play as a factor in the development of the child in the preschool period of childhood is presented. The concept of «play dysontogenesis» is introduced, which means violated, not corresponding to psychological laws development of the play in preschool age due to a number of socio-cultural and educational factors. The reasons for the occurrence of play deprivation are revealed, which have a negative impact on the normal development of the child and the formation of the main neoplasms of preschool childhood. It has been shown that the simplification of the children’s play leads to mental and personal infantilism, a decrease in the ability to plan one’s own actions, a delay in the formation of significant mental functions and personality aspects, and a socio-normative disorientation of a growing person. Based on the data of individual authors and the materials of earlier studies, we suggest a high risk of the formation of various psychological dependencies and deviations, the emergence of play addiction and other socio-behavioral deviations as a result of a lack of play in preschool age. The results of familiarization with training curricula for preschool educational institutions are discussed, which indicate the complete absence in many programs of universities of theoretical disciplines, practical courses and workshops on psychology and pedagogy of children’s play, including applied aspects of teaching future educators how to organize and accompany preschool play. The conditions for the rehabilitation of the play as a unique social, psychological, cultural and age phenomenon, proposed by E.O. Smirnova as fundamental measures in modern preschool education, are outlined.

Role play has a crucial role in early childhood education. Through play important changes take place in the children’s psyche. During the age of 6 the role play changes. The children become more conscious of the imaginary play situation and a growing awareness of the purpose of play comes into existence. The development of this new level of play makes it possible to introduce a new type of play: frame play. Here children and educators together decide a general theme and formulate some dimensions of content, they plan the setting, they discuss the different roles, the rules within the roles, and possible actions attached to some specific roles. Through this shared planning gradually the context or frame of play manifests itself. The problem is whether this more planned play will spoil the characteristics of role play and with that the child’s experiences of meaningfulness and flow.

Background. The trends of developing child friendly urban environment result in designing of play areas in places which are not specifically made for children: train stations, cafes, shopping centers, etc. The design of such places requires research of children’s behavior, understanding and experience of using play equipment and materials. This article deals with children’s play spaces in trains and at railway stations in Moscow.

The purpose of the study is to highlight the principles of organizing play environment and equipment at train stations, airports, in trains.

Play spaces at the railway stations and toy`s sets for kids in trains were analyzed according to the basis criteria of the examination of play spaces and toys. Based on the data obtained, the principles of organizing space were proposed, taking into account the special conditions in traveling (a large number of people, rush, small space, children of different ages, etc.).

Research results. The study showed that play spaces at railway stations are unsuitable for children’s age needs: they are like copies of typical street playgrounds, include the same equipment, designed for kids aged just 2-5 years and mostly for movement and not for the role play. In trains play spaces are better adapted for cognitive and productive activities of children, while play and motor activity are ignored. Play sets are also designed for age 3-6 and require significant changing. This analysis allows us to identify 3 key principles of organizing children’s space in trips. Creating a children’s space, it is necessary to consider the duration of trips, the capacity and possibility of a place, age specific of play, speech and other activities of children. It is also important to focus on the features of age and remember that adults are the mandatory companions of the child in traveling. This study can serve as a basis for a more detailed and large-scale study of the issue of children’s spaces, as well as a general guideline for evaluating and designing such play spaces.

The theory and research described in this article is based on the Vygotskian approach to human development. As this theory suggests, the promotion of semiotic activity in children is essential for their cultural development. It is argued in this paper that the promotion of semiotic activity in young children within the context of their play activity is an important aspect of the improvement of early childhood education. In a small scale exploratory study we observed pupils of 4-6 year old playing together with a train set. During this play the children were encouraged to make a diagram of their railway track. By analysing their play activity and their schematisations, we tried to find out whether (and how) the promotion of semiotic activity would be possible without affecting the play character of the children’s activity.

The article is devoted to the practical aspect of the development of self-regulation of preschoolers in the play. The introduction provides a definition of self-regulation as a multidimensional construct that includes the regulation of emotions, cognitive processes and behavior. The definition of executive functions based on A. Miyake’s model is also proposed. The literature review covers the results of new studies on the influence of play on the development of self-regulation in preschoolers. The article considers studies showing the effectiveness of role play, play with rules, digital games, as well as the relationship between play preferences at home and the development of self-regulation in preschool children. In the final part, practical recommendations are formulated for the use of games in order to develop self-regulation of preschoolers. Recommendations are given for choosing games that are most suitable for this purpose, their duration, increasing children’s involvement in play, and the nuances of organizing play. The conditions for creating different types of play (play with rules, role play, digital games) are described in detail. The Appendix contains names and brief descriptions of digital and board games that can be used to train all components of executive functions.

Background. The article is devoted to the study of the current state of senior preschooler’s free play and the resources for its development through non-directive pedagogical support. Despite the introduction of the Federal State Educational Standard and the great attention paid to the topic of play all over the world, the state of children’s play is alarming. This was confirmed by the ascertaining stage of our study, which showed its extremely low level in 86% of children.

The aim of the study was to identify and analyze the key indicators of free story-driven play and to identify the impact of regular play meetings with non-directive pedagogical support on its development.

Description of the research progress. The study involved 37 senior preschoolers aged 5.8–6.5 years. The methodological apparatus of the study was a modified method by E.O. Smirnova, I.A. Ryabkova. Through observation and careful data recording, play features were obtained and described in terms of such parameters as subject-spatial and content component, game and organizing interaction. The examined group of children was divided into two parts: experimental and control groups. A formative experiment involving 19 children was carried out for two months and was dedicated to exploring the possibilities of developing the play through its non-directive support. Children of the experimental group came once a week for 45-minute play sessions with non-directive support, which were held in a separate room of the kindergarten using of multifunctional material and the absence of traditional toys. Children of the control group continued to lead their usual lifestyle and occasionally came to play, but without special play support. The article describes the principles of pedagogical support, the use of which made it possible to change the features of children’s inclusion in the play and to state the development of different indicators of the game.

Research results. Data analysis showed statistically significant differences in the quality of children’s play in the experimental group and the absence of such differences in the control group. The interaction of children organizing the play and the subject-spatial component of the play have been developed. Game interaction and the content component of the play have not changed so much as a result of play meetings.

Conclusion. The use of unformed materials gave a lot of impulses to both play and construction, productive activities to provide children with play needs. Children’s play initiative has increased, and ways of resolving conflicts have changed. The results obtained and the described approaches can serve as practical material for teachers.

Relevance (context) of the article. Play is important not only for the full life of preschool childhood, but also for the formation of psychological readiness for school. Play support is one of the key aspects of high-quality practice. At the same time, the analysis of existing studies shows that the level of development of preschool children’s play remains low, and the conditions for it are at a minimum level. To change this situation, an objective analysis of the practice is necessary, highlighting the strengths and points of growth.

The aim of the study. Development and testing of the scale “Support for Children’s Play” (SCP) as a tool for assessing and developing the quality of the educational environment of the kindergarten.

Description of the research progress. A scale was developed and tested, consisting of 97 indicators, grouped into 7 indicators. The scale design corresponds to the instruments of the ECERS family. The course of instrument validation in 32 preschool groups is described: checking the internal consistency of the instrument (Alpha-Cronbach), reliability by the method of inter-expert consistency, checking the validity and determining the discriminative function by the method of contrast groups (the significance of differences in the Welch-modification t-tests and the Mann-Whitney shift criteria).

Research results. Statistical analysis showed that the scale has good internal consistency (Alpha-Cronbach coefficient = 0.89), validity (differences between contrast groups are significant at the level of 0.01, p-value = 7.294e-06 according to Welch-t-test, p-value = 0.0002733 according to Wilcoxon test) and sufficient reliability (the average model of deviations of paired inter-expert assessments was 0.47 points, which is significantly lower than the standard deviation for the total score of the entire sample (sd = 1.1695).

Conclusion. The SCP scale can be applied not only for external expert assessment and self-assessment, but also as a tool for the professional development of a teacher in order to reflect on his own strategy for supporting the play and finding growth points. The article proposes measures to improve the tool in order to increase reliability, including the development of a training program for experts.

The article presents the results of a study on the integration of children’s reading and playing practices implemented within the framework of the Federal innovation platform – kindergarten No. 8 of the Central District of St. Petersburg on the topic “Designing Practices for the Education of Preschool Children in a Changing Sociocultural Situation”.

The aim of the study was to study the possibilities of enriching the practice of subject-role play of children in various age groups (3-7,5 years) as a result of testing the technology of productive reading when children get acquainted with the modern world bestseller of children’s literature, J. Donaldson “Snail and Whale”. It was found that the technology of productive reading has a high developing potential both for organizing children’s perception of the book and understanding its meaning, and for the natural display read in the conditions of play activity. The monitoring and quality analysis of playing activity of children 3-7,5 years revealed that the implementation of the technology of productive reading with preschool children allows, on the one hand, to consider the game as a way of interpreting literary works and on the other hand, to support the game based on the read.

The obtained results show that the implementation of the research plan contributed to the fact that the development indicators of the children’s game begin to approach the normative in the situation of the “zone of proximal development” and the further accumulation of play practice will contribute to the achievement of the normative indicators of the role-playing game in the “zone of the actual development of children”. It is also important that the reliance on the content and structure of the literary text allows the teacher to feel more confident in situations of play interaction with children, as an adult and a child interact in a single story context.

Contradictionary results of studies on the development of self-regulation in different activities in children are identified. The structure of self-regulation includes the ability to goal-setting, modeling conditions of activities, programming actions and self-control. The specificity of the manifestation of these abilities in different types of activity and features in preschool children is shown.

The method includes four problem situations. The first part is aimed at diagnosing the ability to self-regulate cognitive activity (metacognitive abilities). The second part is aimed at diagnosing the ability to self-regulate play activity (metaplay abilities).

Situations 1 and 3 suggest a hypothetical inclusion of the child in cognitive and play activities. The child must identify the goal and objectives, the conditions for the implementation of the activity and the program of action. Situations 2 and 4 are aimed at diagnosing self-control in cognitive and play activities. These situations imply a child’s assessment of «completing the assignment by other children».

Testing results indicate a relatively uniform distribution of the examined children according to the level of development of self-regulation abilities in different types of activities. Close and moderate correlation between the indicators of the abilities in cognitive and play activities was found. However, only 8% of the examined children showed a harmonious profile of metacognitive and meta-play abilities.

Self-regulation in preschool children has its own specifics in different types of activities. To diagnose metacognitive and metaplay abilities, it is necessary to use different diagnostic tasks. The results of testing the method indicate that it can be used in scientific research and for the diagnosis of mental development of preschool children.