Exploring Mothers’ Beliefs about Preschool Children’s Play

Abstract

Background: Play is a key concept for early childhood development and education. As partners in the child’s learning, parents play a vital role in how play is defined, appreciated, and practiced. So that, the aim of this study was to explore mothers’ beliefs about the preschool children’s play in Zagazig city. Subjects and methods: A cross-sectional design was utilized to conduct this study. A sample of eighty Egyptian mothers of preschool-children aged five to six years were interviewed and completed a questionnaire composed of four parts: (1) socio-demographic data, (2) child’s play at home, (3) Parent Play Beliefs Scale (PPBS), and (4) scale of play’s effects on children. Results of the present study clarified that 76.3% of parents were found to believe that play is an important vehicle for early development. On the other hand, 31.3% of the mothers believed more strongly in the importance of an early start in academic training for their children. This finding indicates parents might support children’s play as teachers, rather than as playmates. Therefore, it is recommended that design and implement educational programs for preschool children’s parents to raise their awareness about the vital role of play in a normal and healthy development of children.