Keywords
Child Conduct
Psychomotor Performance
Preschool
Home Environment
How to Cite
Abstract
Play is an essential activity for child development, associated with the acquisition of cognitive, social, and emotional skills. The objective of this study was to describe play patterns in preschool children and explore their association with family environment characteristics. An observational, descriptive study with association analysis was conducted in 28 preschool children from a public kindergarten in Montevideo. Observations were carried out in the psychomotor room, and surveys were administered to caregivers regarding play characteristics at home, screen time, sleep habits, and reading habits. Motor predominant play remained similar across age groups, whereas representational and combined play were more frequent in older children. An association was observed between combined play at home and its presence in the psychomotor room, as well as between representational play and self regulation. No associations were evidenced between screen time, reading frequency, or sleep habits and types of play or self-regulation. The results suggest exploratory associations between family environment characteristics and play development. These findings reinforce the importance of promoting quality play opportunities at home. Studies with larger sample sizes are required to further explore these associations.
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