Game Preferences of Modern Preschoolers (Based on Survey among Parents) ³⁹⁵

Sobkin V.S., Doctor in Psychology, director of the Centre of Sociology of Education, Institute of Education Management of the Russian Academy of Education, Moscow, Russia, Sobkin@socioedu.ru
Skobeltsyna K.N., Institute of Sociology of Education, Russian Academy of Education; Deputy Director, Center for Psychological Service Development in Education Federal Institute of Education Development, Moscow, Russia

The article is devoted to the parents’ representations of the play activity of their preschool age children. Particular attention is paid to the joint parent-child play in the structure of family leisure time, parental involvement in children's play, as well as activity of the adult as an organizer of the role-playing game. The reasons why parents do not participate in joint play with their child of preschool age are addressed separately. The parental representations of toys and games, preferred by their child are analyzed. This paper gives a special structural analysis of the preschool children preferences of different kinds of toys in order to clarify the age dynamics of substantial changes in play preferences among boys and girls, as well as to determine the effect of various socio-demographic parameters. This work continues a series of studies conducted by the Institute of Sociology of Education, Russian Academy of Education addressing the problems of preschool education. The article contains material collected among parents whose children attend kindergartens in Moscow.

Keywords: preschool education, joint parent-child play, toys, play preferences of preschool children.

Column: Role of Games and Toys in a Child’s Psychological Development