Exploring the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on parents’ perceptions of play

This study explored the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on parents’ perceptions of play and its benefits for children’s psychology. A case study–mixed methods design (CS-MM) is employed. Parents were invited through social networks (Facebook, WhatsApp, and emails).

First, in the case study, parents (N = 12) from Hong Kong aged 36 to 55 were invited to complete questionnaires focusing on the perception of play and children’s play experiences and to participate in a semi-structured interview one year before the pandemic. Second, in the quantitative survey, parents completed the Parents’ Perception of Child’s Play (PPCP) scale (Lin & Yawkey, 2014) and open-ended questionnaires focusing on the benefits of play during the third wave of the pandemic 10 months after it started.

The Parents’ Perception of Child’s Play (PPCP) Scale (Lin & Yawkey, 2014) is used to examine parents’ attitude toward the important of child play and their related play behaviors. The scale contains 27 items and are separated into three sub-scales, including developmental contributions toward play, parents’ engagement in play, and parents’ encouragement of play.
The scale contains 27 items and are separated into three sub-scales, including developmental contributions toward play, parents’ engagement in play, and parents’ encouragement of play. The inventory consists 16 items rated on parents’ positive perceptions/behaviors and 11 items rated on negative perceptions/behaviors, with each item scored on a 4-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree, 4 = strongly agree), was used. The total scale was regarded as acceptable reliability, with a Cronbach’s alpha of .94.

Data Analysis
Qualitative data were analyzed using thematic analysis.
The data were categorized as feelings of play, free choice, playmates, types of play, and environments.
Quantitative data were tested through correlation analysis.
The findings of the case study indicate that parents agree that play can promote positive emotions and psychological well-being, but they prefer children to make time for academic study instead.
Ethical approval was granted from the Ethics Committee before this study commenced.
The results of the second study show that after the suspension of class, online classes at home (e.g., Zoom, Skype, Adobe Connect), and the resumption of half-day face-to-face classes, there were strong, positive, and statistically significant correlations between parents’ positive perception of play and children’s physical (r = .86, p < .001), emotional (r = .83, p = .001), and social development (r = .77, p < .005). In addition, all younger parents (age range 36–40) tended to be more accepting of children’s freedom to play after academic work, while 67% of older parents (age range 51–55) only allowed children to play on the weekend. There were strong, negative, and statistically significant correlations between parents’ perception of freedom to play and physical (r = −.88, p = .001), cognitive (r = −.68, p < .05), emotional (r = −.69, p < .05), and social development (r = −.80, p < .005). To conclude, this study determined parents’ perception of children’s play with regard to the balance and benefits of play on both children’s development and academic work adjustment, especially under sudden changes.

Reference
Lin, Y. C., & Yawkey, T. (2014). Parents' play beliefs and the relationship to children's social competence. Education, 1(8), 107-114.