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The present article arises from the creative activities that in the last years we have been developing with people with Down syndrome and university students. We present a field study supported by a theoretical foundation, which has made it possible to create a space for people with different capacities to work with the same possibilities. […]
3 
This cross-sectional study examined the independent and interactive associations between objective and perceived measures of neighborhood pedestrian traffic safety and outdoor active play. A total of 458 children aged 10-13 years from Kingston, Canada were studied in 2015-2016. Outdoor active play was measured over 7 days using data from activity logs, accelerometers, and Global Positioning […]
2 
Sixty-four infants, eight boys and eight girls at each of four ages, 95’2, 1 l%, 13%, and 15% months, were observed during a 15minute free ploy session. Three types of play (stereotypical, relational, and functional) and the number of appropriate uses for specific realistic toys were recorded. Stereotypical play (87% of total active play at […]
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This article explores posthumanism as a philosophy that emphasizes human relationships with the natural world by examining representations of animality, both in children’s literature (e.g. titles such as Where the Wild Things Are, Wild, Virginia Wolf, and No Fits, Nilson!) and in children’s play in order to better understand the significance of philosophy in children’s […]
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Gender differences in play behavior and physical aggression have been consistently reported. Theoretical perspectives concerning evolutionary, social, and social-cognitive mechanisms suggest that male-typical play behavior during childhood increases subsequent physical aggression. The evidence supporting these connections is limited, however. The present study investigated the association between gender-typed play behavior in early childhood and physical aggression […]
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The aims of this study were to quantify and examine differences in preschoolers’ indoor and outdoor sedentary time and physical activity intensity at child care using GPS devices and accelerometers. We conducted an observational study of 46 children (mean age 4.5 years, 30 boys, 16 girls) from five child care centers who wore accelerometers and […]
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Play provides children with the opportunity to train in fundamental social skills, including conflict management. Here, we evaluate the management of play, aggressive conflict and reconciliation in 3-to 5-year-old preschool children. 3-year-old children show the highest levels of aggressive conflicts in free play, and do not reconcile their aggressive conflicts in the first months of […]
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To provide a developmentally appropriate instrument to measure children’s perceptions of the therapeutic relationship, the authors developed the Relationship Inventory for Children. Exploratory factor analysis applied to the scores of children ages 6 to 9 (N = 100) resulted in 3 factors: Positive Regard, Unconditional Acceptance, and Empathy. © 2018 by the American Counseling Association. […]
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A need for a more specific understanding of childhood geographies has motivated an investigation of one activity, childhood collecting in nature. This study examined collecting behavior, places of collecting, and the relationship of these places to environmental connectedness in adulthood. Topophilia is presented as a guide to help consider why children collect in nature and […]
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This article claims that the protection of children’s capability for play is a central social-political goal. It provides the following three-premise argument in defense of this claim: (i) we have strong and wide-ranging normative reasons to be concerned with clusters of social deficiency; (ii) particular fertile functionings play a key role for tackling clusters of […]
4 
Background: The outcomes of psycho-educational interventions for Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) comorbid with severe to moderate intellectual disability (ID) are insufficiently documented. In this prospective study, we examined a developmental individual, interactive and intensive approach, called the ‘3i method’, which is based on play therapy. Methods: Twenty DSM-IV-TR ASD subjects (mean chronological age 63.8±37.8months; mean […]
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Over the past half century, in the United States and other developed nations, children’s free play with other children has declined sharply. Over the same period, anxiety, depression, suicide, feelings of helplessness, and narcissism have increased sharply in children, adolescents, and young adults. This article documents these historical changes and contends that the decline in […]
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This paper is aimed at investigating the effects of the intervention through coupled variant games on the creative skills of a group of children. Coupled variant games refers to a group of games selected that meet the characteristic of being preferred by a group of children and, in addition, they were amended by the coupling […]
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Reviews of attachment research point to fathers’ capacity to provide for a secure child-parent attachment relationship; a suggested mechanism for the development of this relationship may be sensitive and challenging play interactions. This review synthesises research on fathers’ challenging and stimulating play by mapping the variation in construct definitions and reporting on the association of […]
1 
Background: The quality of mother-preterm infant interaction has been identified as a key factor in influencing the infant’s later development and language acquisition. The relationship between mother-infant responsiveness and later development may be evident early in infancy, a time period which has been understudied. Aim: Describe the relationship between mother-infant mutual dyadic responsiveness and premature […]
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Aim: Studies of children’s early ability to communicate have mainly focused on mother-child dyads. That is why this study analysed the long-term effects of triadic interactions involving both parents. Method: This prospective pilot study monitored child-mother-father communication in 19 families from the general population in Sweden using the standardised Lausanne Trilogue Play method in a […]
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Play is essential to development because it contributes to the cognitive, physical, social, and emotional well-being of children and youth. Play also offers an ideal opportunity for parents to engage fully with their children. Despite the benefits derived from play for both children and parents, time for free play has been markedly reduced for some […]
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Links between parent-child play, book reading, and storytelling and use of objects and children’s early literacy skills were assessed in the developing Caribbean nations of Belize, the Dominican Republic, Guyana, Jamaica, and Suriname using the UNICEF Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 4 and 5. The sample consisted of 10,976 preschool-aged children and their caregivers. Maternal engagement […]
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There is rising concern in research and practice to improve early years mathematics education as initial mathematical mastery sets the foundation for future academic success. In response to these concerns, this study used observational data from 20 kindergarten classrooms to understand current pedagogies teachers use for mathematics. In particular, our study is situated in kindergarten […]
Making Playgrounds a Little More Dangerous
“I came to the counterintuitive conclusion that engaging in risk is actually very important in preventing injuries” a researcher says.