پدرانی که ادای نوشیدن چای را در بازی با کودکانشان در می آورند، به همراه عروسک های پارچه ای پرشده فرزندشان مدرسه بازی می کنند، یا کتاب های داستان را با حالت نمایشی برای نوپایان خود اجرا می نمایند کاری بیشتر از ایجاد تصویر یک "پدر خوب" را انجام می دهند. آنها ممکن است دارند کودکانشان را در زمینه های آموزشی تقویت می کنند، تقویتی که حد کم در دوران دبستان ادامه خواهد داشت، این نتیجه گیری ها را یک مطالعه تازه انتشار یافته بر روی خانواده های کم درآمد القا می کند.

پژوهش تازه انتشار یافته ای که برای 15 سال ادامه داشت نشان می دهد پدرانی که با فرزندانشان بازی می کنند تفاوت بزرگی در رشد شناختی کودکان خود ایفا می نمایند. جینا کوک، پژوهشگر خانواده، مصرف کننده و رشد انسان در دانشگاه ايالتی یوتا که این مطالعه را انجام داد اظهار داشت: "فقط بازی کردن با کودکانمان مهم نیست – این نیز مهم است که چگونه با کودکانمان بازی می کنیم."

پژوهشگران اين دانشگاه 229 کودک از خانواده های با درآمد پایین را برای مدت 15 سال تحت مطالعه قرار دادند. آنها این کودکان را در هنگام بازی هم با مادر و هم پدر در نشست های جداگانه و شبه-ساختار یافته بازی زیر نظر قرار دادند. آنها آنگاه میزان تحریک را با درنظرگیری هم کمیت و هم کیفیت بازی ارزیابی نمودند. آنها در سه سالگی میزان واژه گویی و در کلاس پنجم توان ریاضی و خواندن این کودکان را آزمودند.

پژوهشگران دریافتند که نه تنها چگونگی بازی [بلکه] تناوب بازی شما با کودک تان بر موفقیت های آموزشی آنها تاثیر دارد. به گفته کوک چگونگی بازی با کودکان "پیامدهای درازمدتی دارد."

یکی از جنبه های متمایز این پژوهش توجه ویژه آن به تاثیر سهم همکاری های پدر در رشد یا عملکرد آموزشی کودکان بوده است که در مقایسه تاکنون کمتر مورد توجه قرار داشته است. کوک و هم نویسندگانش گزارش مطالعه خود را در یک شماره ویژه پدران در مجله علمی "فمیلی ساینس" (علم خانواده) منتشر ساختند.

به گفته کوک، ساده اش این بود که تا حدود یک دهه پیش پدرها به اندازه مادر ها در خانه نبودند. "در بسیاری از پژوهش ها ما فقط با مادرها حرف می زدیم و آنها را مورد مشاهده قرار می دادیم." اما این مطالعه به هر دو نگاه کرد. [ادامه در زیر ...]

Study Shows Playtime with Both Parents Crucial to Child Development

By Brooke Walker | KSL TV | March 9th, 2012

SALT LAKE CITY -- A new study spanning over 15 years shows that dads who play with their kids make a big difference in a child's cognitive development.

Utah State University researchers tracked 229 children from low income families for 15 years. They observed the children playing with both mother and father in separate, semi-structured play sessions. They then rated the level of stimulation, taking into consideration both quantity and quality of play. At age three, they tested kids' vocabulary and in fifth grade, they were given standardized math and reading tests.

Researchers discovered not only does how you play, and how often you play, with your child effect their academic success.

"It's not just playing with our kids - it's how we play with our kids," said Gina Cook, Family, Consumer and Human Development Researcher at USU, who conducted the study.

The study was unique in that up until now, most playtime studies focused on mother-child interaction, while this involved fathers too.

"Those fathers added above and beyond to what the mothers were doing in relation to their child's outcome ten years later," Cook said.

While previous studies have shown that imaginative play can help with a child's early education -- like when they're learning how to read - they found that the effects last beyond that, like when a child takes a fifth-grade math test.

So what does that mean for playtime in your house? Researchers offer these takeaways: really engage in pretend play with your child and encourage make-believe. Elaborate on pictures and words in books or on toys and bring those details to life. Finally, relate the play to your child's experiences.

Researchers say that parents can't just sit and watch TV with children or read a book quickly from beginning to end. Parents should play at a different level and make kids think and push them beyond their developmental level.

Pending additional funding, researchers hope to continue to track these children through high school.

Tea Parties with Dad May Result in Better Grades

By Rita Rubin | MSNBC (Today) | March 9, 2012

Fathers who sip pretend tea, play school alongside stuffed animals or act out storybooks with their toddlers are doing more than establishing their "fun Dad" image. They may be giving kids an academic boost that lasts at least through elementary school, a new study of low-income families suggests.

“It’s important how we play with our kids,” says lead author Gina Cook, a research assistant professor at Utah State University’s department of family, consumer and human development. “It does have long-term outcomes.”

Stimulating play might include a game of “let’s pretend” or talking about how a game or book relates to a child’s own experiences, Cook says.

Relatively little research has looked at the impact of fathers’ contributions to children’s development or academic performance, she and her coauthors write in an all-dad issue of the journal Family Science.

Until the past decade or so, Cook says, fathers simply weren’t home as much as mothers. “In a lot of research, we just go in and talk to and observe the mothers.”

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But this study looked at both parents. Her new study focused on 299 low-income children. Some lived with both biological parents, while others lived with only their mother or with their mother and a stepdad.

When the children were 2, the researchers videotaped each parent playing with his or her child. The scientists then followed up to see how the kids were doing at age 3 and in fifth grade.

Toddlers whose parents engaged in "stimulating play" like pretend games ended up with better grades by the time they reached fifth grade. This was true for both mothers and fathers -- but only for the fathers who lived with their children.

The biological dads who didn’t live with their kids were just as good at stimulating their brains during play as the other dads. But, Cook says, perhaps dads who didn’t live with their kids weren’t around enough to make as much of an impact on their brain development.

Cook emphasizes that her study focused only on low-income families, so she doesn’t know if the findings also apply to other socioeconomic groups. What is clear, though, she says, is that parents shouldn’t just sit there when playing with their young kids. So, the next time your toddler begs for "just one more" game of tea party or horsey -- it may be an investment in their academic future.

Do you enjoy pretend play with your children?