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Early Child Development and Care

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Parental playfulness and children’s emotionalregulation: the mediating role of parents’emotional regulation and the parent–childrelationship

Maayan Shorer, Ori Swissa, Pedut Levavi & Anael Swissa

To cite this article: Maayan Shorer, Ori Swissa, Pedut Levavi & Anael Swissa (2019):Parental playfulness and children’s emotional regulation: the mediating role of parents’emotional regulation and the parent–child relationship, Early Child Development and Care, DOI:10.1080/03004430.2019.1612385

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/03004430.2019.1612385

Published online: 01 May 2019.

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Parental playfulness and children’s emotional regulation: themediating role of parents’ emotional regulation and the parent–child relationshipMaayan Shorer a, Ori Swissab, Pedut Levavia and Anael Swissab

aDepartment of Clinical Psychology, Ruppin Academic Center, Emek-Hefer, Israel; bDepartment of GerontologicalClinical Psychology, Ruppin Academic Center, Emek Hefer, Israel

ABSTRACTParental playfulness describes a parent’s ability to act in a spontaneous,amusing, flexible and creative manner in different parent–childsituations. This study examined the hypothesis that parental playfulnesspromotes children’s emotional skills and thus should be related toimproved emotion regulation and lower anxiety. A sample of 137parents of children aged 2–8 self-reported on their parental playfulnesslevels, their own emotion regulation ability, levels of parent–childcloseness and conflicts, and their children’s emotion regulation andanxiety levels. Parental playfulness was associated with improvedemotion regulation in their children. This association was mediated bythe parent’s emotional awareness and the level of parent–childcloseness. These findings underscore the importance of parentalplayfulness for the children’s emotional skills and the parent–childrelationship.

ARTICLE HISTORYReceived 5 February 2019Accepted 1 April 2019

KEYWORDSParental playfulness; emotionregulation; emotionalawareness; anxiety; parent–child relationship; parent–child closeness; parent–childconflicts

Introduction

A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down (Mary Poppins)

There is a general consensus that parenting style has a key impact on children’s emotional adaptation(Klebanov & Travis, 2014). Different parenting styles have been identified as maladaptive and relatedto negative emotional outcomes in children and adolescents. For example, harsh, controlling andrejecting parenting has been associated with a greater risk for child externalizing behaviours (Ram-chandani et al., 2013; van Aken et al., 2007) and anxiety (Kendler, Myers, & Prescott, 2000; Schimmenti& Bifulco, 2015; Van Der Bruggen, Stams, & Bögels, 2008). In contrast, parental sensitivity, warmth, andauthoritative parenting styles have been identified as positive, in that they promote the child’semotional adjustment and serve as protecting factors for further development (Baumrind, 1991;Braungart-Riker, Garwood, Powers, & Wang, 2001; Denham et al., 2000; Mesman, Oster, & Camras,2012).

To better understand the role of positive parenting styles, this study explored the amusing exuber-ant aspects of parent–child relationships. Specifically, it was designed to assess the contribution of aparenting style characterized by playfulness for children’s emotional adaptation and parent–childrelationships.

The term ‘playfulness’ refers to a specific state of mind that has been defined as ‘[…] the predis-position to frame (or reframe) a situation in such a way as to provide ones-self (and possibly others)with amusement, humor, and/or entertainment’ (Barnett, 2007, p. 955). Lieberman (1977) described

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CONTACT Maayan Shorer maayans@ruppin.ac.il

EARLY CHILD DEVELOPMENT AND CAREhttps://doi.org/10.1080/03004430.2019.1612385

playfulness as including spontaneity in physical, cognitive and social functioning, as manifested byjoy and a sense of humour.

In children, playfulness has been related to key facets of emotional adjustment such as self-confi-dence, independence, curiosity and imagination (Barnett, 1991). Children with higher levels of play-fulness are more cooperative, demonstrate more positive affect and a greater tendency to expressthemselves (Singer, Singer, & Sherrod, 1980). Furthermore, children’s playfulness is related togreater use of adaptive coping strategies (Barnett, 1998; Moran, 1987; Saunders, Sayer, & Goodale,1999). Playful behaviours have also been positively related to mental resilience in childrenexposed to terror (Cohen, Chazan, Lerner, & Maimon, 2010).

Children’s playfulness is viewed in the literature as developed in the context of the parent–childrelationship. For example, Youell (2008) suggested that children’s playfulness is shaped by experien-cing playful interactions with their primary caregivers. Nevertheless, the contribution of parent’s play-fulness to their children’s emotional functioning received little attention.

Parents’ playfulness can be manifested in their ability to reframe different situations and inter-actions with their child in a playful manner, turn harsh situations into fun, and act in a flexible, humor-istic, creative manner in times of stress or conflict. Thus, parental playfulness may contribute tochildren’s emotional functioning in several ways. Parental playfulness may promote the child’semotion regulation ability. The parents’ playful stance during distressing situations may operateboth to relieve the child’s negative emotions and to enhance positive ones (Schore, 2003). Moreover,children learn about their emotions by using their parents as a model, and by observing their parents’emotional expressions and regulation strategies (Eisenberg, Cumberland, & Spinrad, 1998). Thus, aplayful parent may act as a socialization agent, by modelling ways to relieve negative emotionsthrough playfulness.

Jung (2011) noted in a qualitative case study that caregivers’ playfulness helped alleviate infants’emotional distress and make smooth transitions to new experiences. A recent study exploredmothers’ playfulness during parent–child play activity in a sample of 73 toddlers from low incomefamilies and showed that playfulness was related to these children’s emotion regulation (Cabrera,Karberg, Malin, & Aldoney, 2017). Similarly, Cohen, Pat-Horenczyk, and Haar-Shamir (2014) studiedmothers and their toddlers who live under the chronic stress of recurrent missiles attacks in Israelwho took part in group therapy designed to promote these mothers’ playfulness with their youngchildren. The results suggested that parental playfulness made a significant contribution to the chil-dren’s and parents’ ability to regulate their emotions when faced with stressful events.

Parental playfulness may also enhance the parents’ own emotional regulation ability. A study indi-cated that playful adults reported lower levels of perceived stress than their less playful counterparts,utilized adaptive, stressor-focused coping strategies more often, and were less likely to employ nega-tive, avoidant, and escape-oriented strategies (Magnuson & Barnett, 2013). Thus, parental playfulnessmay lead to improved regulation of the parents’ emotions, thereby leading to improved regulation ofthe child’s emotions.

Playful interactions may also help the caregiver establish a close and intimate relationship with thechild (Jung, 2011). Parent–child play has been found to facilitate a positive emotional bond betweenparent and child (Schaefer & Drewes, 2009). Parental training interventions aimed at encouragingparent–child play interactions were found to promote a secure relationship and a positive familyenvironment (Rennie & Landreth, 2000). In a recent study (Menashe-Grinberg & Atzaba-Poria,2017), mothers and fathers who scored higher in playfulness during a parent–child play activityhad children with lower levels of negativity (i.e. lower levels of negative affect and noncompliance)during parent–child play activity. These findings suggest that a parental approach of this type mayalso lead to fewer parent–child conflicts. In other words, a playful approach may allow parents toset limits in a gentler, non-coercive manner. This positive effect on the parent–child relationshipmay also contribute to the child’s emotional regulation ability.

It is important to note that the data on the relationship between parental playfulness and chil-dren’s outcomes are not only scant but have also focused primarily on parents’ playfulness during

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play activity. However, parental playfulness may be manifested in the wider context of differenteveryday parent–child interactions and routines (e.g. during bath time, meals, doing homework).The current study examined this broader contribution of parental playfulness. For this purpose, anew instrument called the Parental Playfulness Questionnaire (PPQ) was administered. This self-report measure was shown to correlate positively with adult playfulness, parental psychological flexi-bility and an authoritative parenting style, and negatively with an authoritarian parenting style(Shorer, Braverman, & Levavi, Submitted). These associations with other facets of parenting stylesstrengthen the claim that parental playfulness can be viewed as a parenting style (not reservedsolely for play activity) which is associated with other positive parenting practices.

It was hypothesized that higher levels of parental playfulness would be related to improvedemotional regulation ability on the part of the child and the parent, lower levels of child anxiety,lower levels of parent–child conflicts and greater closeness between the child and the parent. Wealso examined the ways in which parental playfulness contributed to children’s emotion regulationability. Specifically, we speculated that the relationship between parental playfulness and thechild’s emotion regulation ability would be mediated by its associations with parent–child relation-ship measures (level of conflict and closeness) and with the parent’s own emotional regulation ability.

Materials and methods

Participants

The sample was composed of 137 parents of children aged 2–8 (M = 5.16, SD = 1.8). It consisted of 121mothers (88.3%) and 16 fathers (11.7%). The parents ranged in age from 25 to 50 (M = 36.13, SD =6.17). All participants were Jewish Israelis, recruited via internet/online media. Table 1 presents thedemographics of the sample.

Procedure

Participants were approached through e-mails, social media and online discussion groups (forums).Parents who had more than one child in the target age range were asked to focus on one child alone.Parents were given an explanation of the purpose of the study and were asked to sign an informedconsent form. They were told that participation was voluntary, all information was anonymous andconfidential, and that they were free to withdraw at any time if they chose to do so. Parents thencompleted all questionnaires online, using Qualtrics software. The study was approved by the Insti-tutional Review Board of Ruppin Academic Center.

Measures

Parental Playfulness was assessed by two measures: (a) The Parental Playfulness Questionnaire (PPQ;Shorer et al., Submitted): This is a 20 item self-report questionnaire, for parents of children aged 2–8.

Table 1. Demographic characteristics (N = 137).

Demographic characteristics Total sample Fathers Mothers T test / χ2

Childs’ age (Mean, SD) 5.16 (1.8) 5.03 (1.58) 5.17 (1.83) t(135) =−0.3, n.s.Parents’ age (Mean, SD) 36.13 (6.17) 37.19 (5.91) 36 (6.22) t(135) = 0.73, n.s.Parent’s education (years)(Mean, SD)

16.1 (2.49) 14.93 (2.46) 16.24 (2.46) t(132) =−1.94, n.s.

Parent’s gender (%) N = 137 (100%) 16 (11.7%) 121 (88.3%) χ2(1) = 0.32, n.sChild’s gender Male N = 68 (49.6%) 9 (56.3%) 59 (48.8%)

Female N = 69 (50.4%) 7 (43.8%) 62 (51.2%)

Notes: PPQ = Parental Playfulness Questionnaire; PPOQ = Parental Playfulness Open Questionnaire; n.s. = not significant.*p < .05; **p < .01.

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The PPQ assesses parental playfulness in different every-day parent–child interactions (e.g. ‘When mychild is afraid of doing something, I look for ways to change the scary situation into a game, a chal-lenge, or something funny’, ‘When my child refuses to eat a new kind of food, I look for creative waysto persuade him/her to give it a try’). Items are scored on a 5 points Likert scale (1 = totally disagree, 5= totally agree). The final score of the PPQ is the sum of the 20 items, and thus ranges from 20 to100(higher scores reflect greater parental playfulness). The psychometric properties of the PPQ wereexamined (Shorer et al., Submitted) in a sample of 406 parents of young children. The final versionof the PPQ showed satisfactory internal consistency (α = .77). Exploratory factor analysis, confinedto five factors, explained 46.01% of the variance and included Spontaneity, Enjoyment as aProblem Solving Strategy, Creativity and Improvisation, Enjoyment as a Means of Emotion Regulationand Cognitive Flexibility. The PPQ correlated positively with adult playfulness, parental psychologicalflexibility and an authoritative parenting style, and negatively with an authoritarian parenting style. Inthe current study the internal consistency of the PPQ was satisfactory (α = .73).

(b) The parental playfulness open questionnaire (PPOQ), a new instrument developed for thecurrent study. The PPOQ assesses parental playfulness in parents of children aged 2–8. Parents areasked to describe in writing their reactions to 9 different emotionally charged parent–child inter-actions and routines (e.g.: ‘It is bed time and your child refuses to go to sleep’). Responses arecoded onfive dimensions of parental playfulness: (a) Spontaneity and flexibility (i.e. the parents’ability to change plans and be flexible), (b) Cognitive flexibility (i.e. the parents’ ability to generateother alternatives for coping with the situation), (c) Enjoyment as a problem solving strategy (i.e. over-coming conflicts and challenges by making the situation more amusing), (d) Enjoyment as a means ofemotion regulation (overcoming negative emotions by making the situation more amusing), and (e)Creativity and improvisation. Each of these dimension is rated on a 0–1 scale (0 = no, 1 = yes). Thus,the scale for each response ranges from 0 to 5, and the total score on the PPOQ ranges from 0 to 45.The PPOQ was completed in the current study by 90 parents. The internal consistency of its items wassatisfactory (α = .68). Inter-rater reliability among three independent raters was examined using theIntraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) on 15 subjects. A good agreement, ranging from .92 to 1,was obtained for all items, and the inter-rater reliability for the final scores was also good (0.96, CI95% 0.92–0.99). The PPOQ and the PPQ were found to be significantly and moderately correlated(r(90) = 0.35, p < 0.01).

Child anxiety was assessed on the Revised Preschool Anxiety Scale (PAS-R; Edwards, Rapee,Kennedy, & Spence, 2010). This scale consists of a 28 item questionnaire assessing anxiety in childrenaged 3–5. Items are rated by the parents on a 5 point scale and subsumed into four scales: generalanxiety, social anxiety, separation anxiety and specific fears. The total score and the four subscaleswere reported to have high reliability and validity (Edwards et al., 2010).

Children’s emotion regulation ability was measured on the Emotions Questionnaire for parents(Rydell, Berlin, & Bohlin, 2003). Parents rate their child’s emotion regulation ability and emotionalityin the context of four emotions (sadness, anger, fear and positive emotions-exuberance). Emotionregulation ability is assessed by 20 items (e.g. ‘It is easy for others, for instance a parent, to calmhim/her down’, ‘He/she has difficulties calming down on his/ her own’) and emotionality is assessedby 20 items. In this study only the emotion regulation scale was used. Parents’ responses are rated ona 5 point Likert scale (1 – does not apply at all, 5- applies very well to my/this child). Scale scores arecomputed as the mean of the item scores. Higher total scores reflect better emotional regulation.Rydell et al. (2003) reported appropriate reliability and validity for this measure.

Parents’ emotion regulation was measured on the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS;Gratz & Roemer, 2004). This self-report questionnaire assesses difficulties in emotion regulation inadults. The 41 items reflect difficulties on six dimensions: Non-acceptance of Emotional Responses(Non-acceptance), Difficulties Engaging in Goal-Directed Behavior (Goals), Impulse Control Difficulties(Impulse), Lack of Emotional Awareness (Awareness), Limited Access to Emotion Regulation Strat-egies (Strategies), Lack of Emotional Clarity (Clarity). The items are rated on a 5 point Likert scale.Higher scores on each dimension and on the total score reflect greater difficulties in emotion

4 M. SHORER ET AL.

regulation. According to Gratz and Roemer (2004), the DERS has high internal consistency (α = .93)and all its subscales have good internal consistency (α > .80).

The Child–Parent Relationship was assessed on the Child–Parent Relationship Scale- Short Form(Driscoll & Pianta, 2011). On this 15 item questionnaire parents rates their child–parent conflictsand child–parent closeness. Items are rated on a 5 Likert scale. Higher scores on the two subscalesreflect more extensive conflicts and greater closeness.

Data analysis

A series of two-tailed Pearson correlation tests were conducted to calculate the associationsbetween parental playfulness and the other variables. Then, to evaluate the mediation model weanalyzed the role of parent’s emotion regulation and parent–child relationship measures in med-iating the contribution of parental playfulness (PPQ) to the child’s emotion regulation ability. Struc-tural equation modeling (SEM) was applied. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS,version 23) was used for most of the analyses, and AMOS (version 23 for Windows) was used forthe SEM analysis.

Results

Preliminary analysis

The relationships between the two parental playfulness measures and certain background vari-ables were examined first. We examined the difference between fathers and mothers in the PPQand the PPOQ, using independent t-tests (the fathers and mothers in our sample were notcouples). In these analyses, mothers and fathers did not significantly differ in their playfulnesslevels, as was evidenced in their PPQ and PPOQ scores (see Table 2). We also examined whetherparents’ playfulness differed as a function of their child’s gender. An independent t-test foundno significant differences. Next, we examined whether parental playfulness was related to theparents’ and children’s ages, using two-tailed Pearson correlation tests. The PPQ was not signifi-cantly correlated with parents’ age (r = −.09, n.s.) or child’s age (r = −.06, n.s.). However, thePPOQ scores were negatively and significantly related to the parents’ age (r = −.22, p < .05) andthe child’s age (r = −.33, p = .001), such that older parents and children were associated withlower parental playfulness.

The prevalence of parental playfulness dimensions

To examine the prevalence of each parental playfulness dimension we reviewed the parents’ open-ended responses in the PPOQ. This analysis revealed that the most common feature of parental play-fulness reported in their descriptions was spontaneity (306 responses). An example of this type ofresponse was: ‘I’ll stay with him a little longer and offer to read him another story’. Cognitive flexibility

Table 2. Differences in parental playfulness as a function of parents’ and child’s gender.

PPQ (M, SD) T-test PPOQ (M, SD) T-test

Parent’s genderFathers 73.56 (6.24) t(135) =−0.43, n.s. 4.73 (3.82) t(88) =−1.42, n.s.Mothers 74.55 (8.88) 6.53 (3.95)Child’s genderBoys 74.36 (8.77) t(135) =−0.95, n.s. 6.40 (3.63) t(88) =−0.25, n.s.Girls 74.50 (8.48) 6.19 (4.36)

Notes: PPQ = Parental Playfulness Questionnaire; PPOQ = Parental Playfulness Open Questionnaire; n.s. = not significant.*p < .05; **p < .01.

EARLY CHILD DEVELOPMENT AND CARE 5

was mentioned in 164 responses (e.g. ‘I’ll try to think of other alternatives and offer it to my child’),enjoyment as a problem solving strategy was cited in 49 responses and enjoyment as a means ofemotion regulation appeared in only 15 responses (e.g. ‘We can frighten the darkness away withthe lion puppet’). Creativity and improvisation was found in 57 responses.

Parental playfulness and children’s outcomes

The relationships between parental playfulness and children’s outcomes measures were assessedby calculating two-tailed Pearson Correlations between both measures of parental playfulness (PPQand PPOQ) and the child’s emotion regulation capability and anxiety levels. The PPQ and the PPOQwere both positively correlated with the child’s emotion regulation capability, such that greaterparental playfulness was associated with enhanced child’s emotion regulation. None of the corre-lations between the PPQ and the PPOQ with any of the scales of child anxiety were significant (seeTable 3).

Parental playfulness and parent–child relationship

To examine the associations between parental playfulness and the parent–child relationshipmeasures, we conducted two-tailed Pearson Correlations between the measures of parental playful-ness, the parent–child closeness and the parent–child conflict measures. A positive moderate signifi-cant correlation was found between the PPQ and parent–child closeness, such that greater parentalplayfulness was associated with greater closeness. The relationship between the PPQ and theconflicts scale was weak, negative with marginal significance. The other correlations were non-signifi-cant (see Table 3).

Parental playfulness and the different dimensions of parent’s emotion regulation

A series of two-tailed Pearson Correlations were calculated to examine the associations between par-ental playfulness and the different dimensions of parental emotion regulation (non-acceptance,goals, impulse, awareness, strategies, clarity). A weak significant negative relationship was foundbetween the PPQ and parent’s emotional awareness difficulties, such that greater difficulties inemotional awareness were associated with less parental playfulness. No significant relationshipswere found for the other measures included in this analysis (see Table 3).

Table 3. Correlations between parental playfulness, child’s emotion regulation and anxiety, parent-child relationship and parentalemotion regulation.

PPQ PPOQ Child’s emotional regulation

Child’s emotional regulation .25** .22* –Child’s anxiety .05 .05 −.13Parent-child closeness .34*** .03 .36***Parent-child conflicts −.18, (p = .06) .04 −.46***Parent’s emotion regulationTotal score −.11 −.01 −.31***Non-acceptance .00 .00 −.18, (p = .06)Goals .06 .07 −.10Impulse −.10 −.11 −.26**Awareness −.24** −.12 −.35***Strategies −.14 .05 −.21*Clarity −.12 .02 −.27**Notes: Non-acceptance = Non-acceptance of Emotional Responses; Goals = Difficulties Engaging in Goal-Directed Behavior;Impulse = Impulse Control Difficulties; Awareness = Lack of Emotional Awareness; Strategies = Limited Access to Emotion Regu-lation Strategies; Clarity = Lack of Emotional Clarity.

*p < .05; **p < .01; ***p < .001.

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Mediation model

To investigate the mediation model, a structural equation model (SEM) was constructed, as stipulatedin Hayes (2009). As a combined rule for the acceptance of the model, we chose the following rec-ommended values: a normed fit index (NFI) > .90 (Bentler & Bonett, 1980) and a root mean squareerror of approximation (RMSEA) < .08 (Browne & Cudeck, 1993). The chi-square goodness-of-fitindex presented an excellent fit with the data, χ2(2, N = 137) = 1.38, p = .50; NFI = .98; RMSEA = .000;the standardized root mean square residual (RMR) = .03. As can be seen in Figure 1, parental playful-ness positively predicted closeness and negatively predicted parents’ emotional awareness. Therelationship between parental playfulness and conflicts levels was negative with marginal signifi-cance. In turn, closeness positively predicted child’s emotional regulation, whereas emotional aware-ness and conflicts negatively predicted child’s emotional regulation. Thus, closeness, emotionalawareness and conflicts mediated the relationship between parental playfulness and the child’semotional regulation.

Discussion

Although children’s playfulness has been related to important aspects of emotional adjustment(Barnett, 1991, 1998; Cohen et al., 2010; Moran, 1987; Saunders et al., 1999; Singer et al., 1980), theimportance of their parents’ playfulness has received much less attention (Cabrera et al., 2017;Menashe-Grinberg & Atzaba-Poria, 2017). The current study is one of the few initial attempts toexamine the contribution of parental playfulness to their child’s emotional adaptation. It is alsothe first attempt to consider parents’ playfulness in the wider context of everyday parent–child inter-actions (as opposed to playfulness during play activity alone).

Our main aim was to examine the hypothesis that greater parental playfulness would be associ-ated with the child’s improved emotion regulation and lower levels of anxiety. To understand thenature of these associations we investigated whether they were mediated by the parent’s ownemotional regulation ability, levels of parent–child conflicts and the level of parent–child closeness.

The results indicated that parental playfulness was positively associated with children’s emotionregulation ability. These findings are consistent with previous studies (Cabrera et al., 2017; Cohenet al., 2014; Menashe-Grinberg & Atzaba-Poria, 2017) and reflect the notion that a playful parentcan help a child manage negative emotional reactions (Schore, 2003). In our view, the playfulparent not only serves as a ‘spoonful of sugar’ that ‘helps the medicine go down’ (as in the Mary

Figure 1. The mediating role of parents’ emotional awareness, conflicts and closeness on the relationship between parental play-fulness and the child’s emotion regulation. +p = .06; *p < . 05; **p < .01; ***p < .001.

EARLY CHILD DEVELOPMENT AND CARE 7

Poppins lyrics), but also functions as a socialization agent, that models emotional regulation strat-egies for the child.

The paths through which parental playfulness contributes to children’s emotional regulationability were examined in the mediation model. The findings confirmed that the relationshipbetween parental playfulness and children’s emotion regulation ability was fully mediated by theparent’s emotional awareness, parent–child closeness and (with marginal significance) the level ofparent–child conflicts. The parent’s emotional awareness is one of the mediating factors. Higherlevels of parental playfulness were positively related with parent’s emotional awareness, which, inturn, was related to improved emotional regulation of the child. A playful stance on the part ofthe parent involves being flexible, reacting to what is happening and finding alternative coping strat-egies. This requires the parent to be attuned to the child’s and his/her own emotional state. Forexample, a parent who becomes involved in a power struggle with a child may become angry, fru-strated or feel helpless. The conscious or unconscious decision to shift to a playful stance requires theparents to be attuned to their feelings, acknowledge and clarify them. This enables parents to betteradjust their reactions in a way that helps children regulate their emotions.

The levels of closeness and conflicts in the parent–child relationship emerged as the other twofactors mediating parental playfulness and children’s emotion regulation ability. These findingssuggest that a parent who is more prone to introducing playful elements into the parent–child inter-actions can achieve a closer and more positive relationship with the child. In terms of AttachmentTheory (Bowlby, 1969, 1973, 1980), playful parenting may help establish a more secure relationship,in which the caregiver serves as a ‘safe haven’ for the child in times of distress, and a ‘secure base’ forexploration at other times. According to Attachment Theory, interactions with a parent who is acces-sible, responsive and engaged are internalized into positive models of the self and others later on inlife. Thus, a child who experienced such parenting has learned that an expression of distress elicitssupportive responses from the caregiver, that turning to the caregiver in times of distress isusually effective in finding coping strategies, and that his/her own actions are often able toreduce distress. There are considerable empirical evidences that a secure attachment is related toimproved affect regulation strategies (Mikulincer, Shaver, & Pereg, 2003).

Although our model of parental playfulness and children’s emotion regulation was confirmed to alarge extent, the hypothesis concerning children’s anxiety was not supported, since no correlationwas found between parental playfulness and their child’s anxiety levels. This finding may suggestthat a playful stance on the part of the parent is not enough for children to overcome theiranxious tendencies. The parent’s playfulness may help decrease the child’s negative emotions (i.e.the fear reaction) by distracting the child from anxiety instead of focusing on it, or by interjectingamusing components into a frightening situation (Weisman Kra-Oz & Shorer, 2017). However, thismay not be sufficient to overcome a child’s avoidant stance. To do so the parent may need to be sim-ultaneously playful and authoritative. This combination may help the parent both reduce the child’snegative affect and encourage coping by setting clear limits and demands.

The same explanation may account for for the weak and marginally significant correlationsbetween parental playfulness and parent–child conflicts in the current study. High parental playful-ness accompanied by low levels of authoritativeness might lessen the parent’s ability to set limits forthe child, thus leading to a greater amount of conflicts. Consistent with this notion, Menashe-Grin-berg and Atzaba-Poria (2017) found an interaction between parental playfulness and parental struc-turing (i.e. the extent to which the parent appropriately structures an activity and sets limits whennecessary), such that parental playfulness moderated the link between structuring and the child’snegativity level during play activity. Future research should consider parental playfulness in relation-ship to the level of parental authoritativeness/structuring.

The role of parental playfulness could be further explored in future research by examining its inter-actions with children’s specific characteristics. This suggestion is in line with the Transactional Modelput forward by Sameroff and Mackenzie (2003) suggesting that children’s development should beconsidered as the result of complex transactional influences between the child’s characteristics

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and the caregiver’s characteristics. The child’s age, gender, culture and temperament, for instance,may moderate the relationship between parental playfulness and the child’s emotional regulation.

The findings of this study have several limitations that should be taken into consideration. First,the cross-sectional design prevented us from drawing conclusions as to the directionality of theassociations we found. An experimental design in which the level of parental playfulness is manipu-lated and controlled could shed further light on these associations. Second, all the measures in thisstudy relied on parents’ reports. This may be a confounding factor since both the parents’ and thechild’s variables are reported by the same person. Thus, future research should use varied assessmentmethods. We also acknowledge the limitation of using two newly constructed measures for parentalplayfulness. However, it should be noted that due to its novelty, there are no other available measuresfor this construct (in its broader context). In addition, both measures had appropriate psychometricproperties and parental playfulness was assessed in two different ways to increase the validity of thefindings. It is worth noting that most of our hypotheses were confirmed when using the PPQ as themeasure of parental playfulness and not the PPOQ. This might be explained by the narrow range ofscores obtained the PPOQ. Since the PPOQ is open-ended and does not centre exclusively on play-fulness, many parents referred to their other reactions. This constrained the ability of the PPOQ toassess this parental feature.

Another potential concern is that the sample is consisted mostly of mothers, since only fathersconstituted 11.7%. However no differences were found between mothers and fathers in terms ofdemographic characteristics, or their parental playfulness levels. Similarly, in the Menashe-Grinbergand Atzaba-Poria (2017) study, no difference was found between mothers and fathers in theirextent of playfulness exhibited during play interactions with their child. However, these authorsfound different patterns of relationships between mothers’ and father’s parental playfulness andother variables. This calls for caution in applying our findings to fathers.

Despite these limitations, the current findings underscore the important contribution of parents’playfulness to their children’s emotional skills. Professionals may find it useful to explore the impact ofthis parental quality and consider it when working with parents. It is worthwhile noting that the mostfrequent parental playfulness dimensions described by the parents in the current study were spon-taneity and cognitive flexibility, whereas expressions of enjoyment were relatively rare. This maysuggest that parents need particular assistance in adding enjoying, amusing and exciting com-ponents to their everyday parenting practices.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Data availability statement

Data supporting the results presented in this paper can be found by approaching the correspondingauthors.

Notes on contributors

Maayan Shorer is a clinical psychologist and a lecturer at Ruppin Academic Center, Israel.

Ori Swissa is a graduate student at the Gerontological Clinical Department, Ruppin Academic Center, Israel.

Pedut Levavi is a graduate student at the Clinical Psychology Department, Ruppin Academic Center, Israel.

Anael Swissa is a graduate student at the Gerontological Clinical Department, Ruppin Academic Center, Israel.

ORCID

Maayan Shorer http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2913-2595

EARLY CHILD DEVELOPMENT AND CARE 9

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