Why Do Children Play?

For 4- to 6-year-olds

This study will take place on a Zoom call with one of our researchers. When you select the “Participate Now” button, you will see a calendar where you can sign up for a day and time that’s convenient for you. During the Zoom call, your child will watch some animated videos of other children playing. We will ask your child some questions to learn about what they saw in the video.

What do kids learn from play? At home or on the playground, children play a lot. But play isn’t just fun. It’s also a chance for kids to learn about themselves and others. To uncover why children play the way they do, and what they learn from it, we show children cartoons of other kids playing and ask them questions about what they saw. We ask, for example, why kids think the cartoon characters played the way they did, and whether the characters liked playing that way. Your child’s responses will help us uncover lessons children draw from play. Ultimately, our work aims to inform parents, teachers, and policymakers about the value of a child’s play, and about how to let children learn crucial social skills on the playground.

20 minutes

This study has no compensation, but we hope your family enjoys it!