Paternal play with toddlers: Recreation and creation

Abstract

The purpose of the paper is threefold. First, ir presents empirical data about paternal and maternal games displayed with toddlers in a ptay situation with polyvalent objects. Both parents proposed predictable routines through conventional games. But differenees in parental games also occurred, as fathers proposed new ways of using the objects through non conventional games more than mothers did. Second, those results are interpreted in terms of paternal specific contributions to development, ln fact, in such play situations with toddlers, pc, ternal behaviors are more destabilizing than maternal ones. Last, we di~cuss whether paternal irregularities in such play situation with ok,]ects may favor cognitive development, as well as structurant maternal regularities in the same situation. More generally, the complementa,p~ contributions of maternal and paternal perturbations in different kind of situations (play, language developmenO are questioned.

The Family Alliance Assessment Scales: Steps Toward Validity and Reliability of an Observational Assessment Tool for Early Family Interactions

“…In addition, fathers put a different emphasis than mothers in the interaction; they are more oriented toward motor stimulations, while mothers are more prone to stimulating their infant vocally; moreover, fathers tend to bring about unexpectedness or originality when playing games (e.g., by using an object in an unconventional way ;Labrell 1996). This led to the hypothesis that infants achieve different kinds of emotional learning with each parent, under the influence of these different types of stimulation.…”

Theorizing the Father-Child Relationship: Mechanisms and Developmental Outcomes

“…Mothers are primarily perceived by children as sources of well-being and security, while fathers are the preferred playmates, particularly by boys [Lamb, 1997]. Labrell's [1996Labrell's [ , 1997 research reveals that, in play involving toys, fathers use objects as a pretext for physical contact with children and propose more unconventional games than mothers; for example, fathers often use objects in an incongruous way, i.e. not accordingly to everyday usage patterns.…”

“…Moreover, during physical play, fathers use teasing to destabilize children both emotionally and cognitively. As pointed out by Labrell [1996], both irregularities and regularities are important to cognitive development, and children need to learn to deal with unexpected events. According to Le Camus [1995a], the need of children to be stimulated, pushed and encouraged to take risks is as great as their need for stability and security.…”

Inleiding op het themanummer ‘Vaderschap, rol van vaders in opvoeding van kinderen en diversiteit in vaderschap’

“…Ook geven kinderen vaak de voorkeur aan spelen met hun vader omdat het minder gecontroleerd is, veel meer stimulatie biedt en vaak samengaat met veel lachen en plezier (Labrell, 1996). Het spel tussen vaders en kinderen wordt vooral gekenmerkt door het fysieke, spannende en onvoorspelbare karakter (Paquette, 2004) en deze speelse omgang met het kind geeft extra dynamiek en energie.…”