Child–mother and child–father play interaction patterns with preschoolers

The study focused on qualitative and quantitative differences between maternal and paternal play interaction behaviours with their preschool children. Home observations of 18 child–mother and child–father play interactions were qualitatively analysed to derive interaction themes. In addition, the quality of child–mother and child–father interactions was assessed through emotional availability (EA) coding system. The qualitative analyses indicated that during play interactions with their preschool children, mothers tend to structure, guide, teach, and engage in empathic conversations, whereas fathers tend to engage in physical play, behave like age-mates, follow the child's lead, and challenge children. Despite these qualitative differences, child–mother dyads did not differ significantly from child–father dyads on five out of six EA dimensions. The discussion includes methodological implications of the findings derived through this mixed-methods study.