Parent-Child Play: Descriptions and Implications (SUNY series, Children's Play in Society)

This book provides the latest research and theory in the area of children's play with their parents. It includes discussions of the basic processes involved in parent-child play, parent-child play in atypical populations of children, and parent-child play in cross-cultural perspective.An opening section on basic processes provides a general background on the mechanisms involved in play and provides a foundation for the rest of the book. The section on atypical populations focuses on parent-child play among clinical populations, including Down syndrome children, premature children, hyperactive children, and economically distressed families and families with depressed parents. It expands the context of the populations'data described in the first section and provides some additional insight into mechanisms. Finally, the book describes some of the enormous cross-cultural variations in play behavior.Kevin MacDonald is Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at California State University at Long Beach. This volume provides the latest research and theory in the area of children's play with their parents. It includes discussions of the basic processes involved in parent-child play, parent-child play in atypical populations of children, and parent-child play from a cross-cultural perspective. Fifteen chapters follow the introduction, "Parents and Children Playing" (Kevin MacDonald). The chapters are: (1) "Dilemmas in Adult Play with Children" (Brian Sutton-Smith); (2) "Parent-Infant Games as Dynamic Social Systems" (Alan Fogel and others); (3) "Parent-Infant Play as a Window on Infant Competence: An Organizational Approach to Assessment" (Marjorie Beeghley); (4) "Parent-Child Play: An Evolutionary Perspective (Kevin MacDonald); (5) "Rough and Tumble Play: A Fundamental Brain Process" (Jaak Panksepp); (6) "Lessons from Primate Play" (Maxine Biben and Steven Suomi); (7) "Parent-Child Physical Play: Determinants and Consequences" (James Carson and others); (8) "The Necessary Lightness of Mother-Child Play" (Phyllis Levenstein and John O'Hara); (9) "Mother-Infant Play and Maternal Depression" (Jeffrey Cohn); (10) "Peekaboo across Cultures: How Mothers and Infants Play with Voices, Faces, and Expectations" (Anne Fernald and Daniela O'Neill); (11) "Gentle Play Partners: Mother-Child and Father-Child Play in New Delhi, India" (Jaipaul Roopnarine and others); (12) "Mother, Older Sibling and Me: The Overlapping Roles of Caregivers and Companions in the Social World of Two- to Three-Year-Olds in Ngeca, Kenya" (Carolyn Edwards and Beatrice Whiting); (13) "Persistence of Play and Feeding Interaction Differences in Three Miami Cultures" (Tiffany Field); (14) "Cultural Differences in Scaffolding Pretend Play: A Comparison of American and Mexican Mother-Child and Sibling-Child Pairs" (Jo Ann Farver); and (15) "The Cultural Context of Mother-Infant Play in the Newborn Period" (Kevin Nugent and others). Each chapter includes references. (TJQ) Introduction : Parents And Children Playing / K. Macdonald -- Dilemmas In Adult Play With Children / B. Sutton-smith -- Parent-infant Games As Dynamic Social Systems / A. Fogel, Et Al. -- Parent-infant Play As A Window On Infant Competence : An Organizational Approach To Assessment / M. Beeghley -- Parent-child Play : An Evolutionary Perspective / K. Macdonald -- Rough And Tumble Play : A Fundamental Brain Process / J. Panksepp -- Lessons From Primate Play / M. Biben And S.j. Suomi -- Parent-child Physical Play : Determinants And Consequences / J. Carson, Et Al. -- The Necessary Lightness Of Mother-child Play / P. Levenstein And J. O'hara -- Mother-infant Play And Maternal Depression / J.f. Cohn -- Peekaboo Across Cultures : How Mothers And Infants Play With Voices, Faces, And Expectations / A. Fernald And D.k. O'neill -- Gentle Play Partners : Mother-child And Father-child Play In New Delhi, India / J.l. Roopnarine, Et Al. Mother, Older Sibling And Me : The Overlapping Roles Of Caregivers And Companions In The Social World Of Two- To Three-year-olds In Ngeca, Kenya / C.p. Edwards And B.b. Whiting -- Persistence Of Play And Feeding Interaction Differences In Three Miami Cultures / T.m. Field -- Cultural Differences In Scaffolding Pretend Play : A Comparison Of American And Mexican Mother-child And Sibling-child Pairs / J.a.m. Farver -- The Cultural Context Of Mother-infant Play In The Newborn Period / J.k. Nugent, Et Al. Edited By Kevin Macdonald. Includes Bibliographical References And Index.