Junior Researcher at the Center of Modern Problems of Modern Education, Federal Scientific Center for Psychological and Interdisciplinary Research, Moscow, Russian Federation
Background. The family environment plays a decisive role in shaping a child’s cultural orientations, including play activity. However, parents’ perceptions of play may not align with its subjective meaning for the child. In this context, it is essential to understand how adults notice, interpret, and evaluate their children’s play, as they are the ones who create the conditions for the development of this activity.
Objective. To identify the characteristics of parental perceptions of play preferences among toddlers and preschoolers, depending on the family’s sociocultural status (parents’ education level and family structure) and the child’s gender and age.
Sample. The study involved 42.530 parents (aged 18–56) of children aged 2 to 7 years from various regions of the Russian Federation, including 41.234 women and 1,296 men.
Methods. A parental questionnaire survey was conducted as part of the study. A questionnaire designed to study parents’ perceptions of children’s gaming preferences was used to collect data. It was developed under the supervision of V.S. Sobkin at the Center for Sociology of Education of the Russian Academy of Education in 1997 and modified in 2025. Respondents were asked to sel ect up to five types of play their child preferred fr om a list of twelve categories. Additional sociodemographic data about the family were also collected. Data analysis employed methods of mathematical statistics, including frequency analysis, Pearson’s chi-square (c²) test, and exploratory factor analysis (principal component method with Varimax rotation), using SPSS Statistics 27.
Results. The findings revealed differences in how parents perceive the play preferences of preschool-aged boys and girls, depending on family structure and parental education level. Two bipolar factors emerged in parental perception of children’s play types: “Creative Self-Expression vs. Spatial Exploration” and “Independent Rule-Following vs. Adult Supervision,” along with one unipolar factor: “Child’s Investigative Stance.”
Conclusions. The data highlight specific patterns in how parents perceive their children’s play. These perceptions are shaped by parental gender stereotypes: creative and emotionally expressive forms of activity are more frequently attributed to girls, while physically active and constructive types of play are associated with boys. This polarization appears as early as toddlerhood and persists throughout the preschool years. Moreover, parents’ ability to recognize manifestations of initiative, imagination, and investigative interest in their child’s play is linked to their level of education.
Background. Time spent with family is a significant factor influencing the child’s successful development, including gender socialization. Mothers and fathers probably prefer different activities when spending time together with children of different genders. Considering that different types of activities have a heterogeneous effect on a child’s personality, the choice of different joint activities can play a significant role in their development. But in modern psychology, family leisure activities in the aspect of parent-child relationships have been little studied by domestic authors.
Objectives. The study aims to identify gender characteristics of joint leisure time of parents with their preschool children.
Sample. The study involved 42 864 parents of preschool-age children aged 18 to 56 years: 41 551 women and 1 313 men from different regions of the Russian Federation.
Methods. The study was conducted on the basis of the author’s questionnaire aimed at studying the parents’ perception of various aspects of preschool children’s lives. Data processing was carried out using frequency and factor analysis.
Results. Study results showed differences in leisure activities of fathers and mothers with their boys and girls. Two key bipolar factors of parents’ preferences for types of joint leisure were identified: “Practically oriented forms of activity — Playful forms of activity” and “Artistic, aesthetic activity — “Cognitive” activity”.
Conclusions. The obtained data allow us to record the features of family leisure with children. Firstly, modern parents strive to spend time with their children, choosing traditional types of family pastime. Secondly, the features of family leisure activities are gender-specific: mothers are focused on practical benefits, while fathers prefer play. In addition, parents with girls and boys choose different directions of activities. Thirdly, important contribution to full-fledged leisure activities with a preschooler is made by family completeness: in single-parent families, the frequency of play forms of child-parent interaction decreases.