Play in children: Parents’ perspective

Objectives: Play is the very essence of childhood and is vital for child development. However, in the recent past, there has been a decreasing trend in both indoor and outdoor play. More time is spent on gadgets than ever, instead of playing. In addition, parental concerns about crime and safety restrict children from going outdoors to play. Hence, the objective of this study was to understand parents’ perspectives on the importance of play in children. Material and Methods: The cross-sectional survey-based study was conducted using an internally validated online questionnaire prepared using Google Forms and administered to parents of children aged 1–18 years. The responses were collected from respondents from various parts of India as well as from other countries such as the USA, Australia, Dubai, Bahrain and Singapore over a period of 2 months. Analysis of the data was done using descriptive statistical methods. Results: Among the total of 410 parents, 54% were in the age group of 30–40 years and about two-thirds of the participants were mothers. About 99% of the parents felt that play is important for the child’s overall development. A little more than half mentioned that their children played for only 30 min to 1 h/day on average. About 87% of the parents spent, on average, more than 1 h/day playing in their childhood. Conclusion: Even though almost all parents perceived that play is an important aspect of a child’s overall development, half of their children played for only about 30 min to 1 h/day when compared to the majority of these parents playing more than 1 h/day when they were children.