Abstract: In recent years, a literature has emerged describing contributions fathers make to the development of very young children. Scholars suggest that active play may be a specific area of parenting in which fathers are primary and, further, that this type of play helps children experience intense emotions and learn to regulate them. However, this hypothesis remains largely theoretical. The current study (N = 415) addresses this gap in fatherhood research by using a secondary analysis of data collected in the national Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project (EHSREP) Fathering Substudy (Boller et al., 2006; Love et al., 2005) to examine relations between fathers’ active play (measured at children’s 36-month birthday-related assessment) and developmental outcomes (cognitive–social and emotion regulation) at the entry to kindergarten. Findings demonstrate that regular active physical play between fathers and young children is associated with improved developmental outcomes. However, findings support a curvilinear relationship such that moderate amounts of active play are associated with better outcomes for children, but too little or too much active play is associated with worse outcomes, especially for children with more reactive temperamental qualities. Importantly, these findings are not replicated in relation to other types of parenting activities in which fathers engage, such as reading to children or engaging at mealtime, suggesting there is a special relationship between this type of play and children’s development. Furthermore, findings demonstrate that children with high emotional reactivity may benefit the most from active playtime with their fathers. These results are discussed in the context of the influence of fathering processes on child and family outcomes in low-income families.

中文翻译：

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父亲的日常活动时间与幼儿期的自我调节有关

摘要：近年来，出现了描述父亲对幼儿发展做出的贡献的文献。学者们认为，积​​极游戏可能是父亲最主要的父母育儿领域，此外，这种游戏可以帮助孩子体验强烈的情绪并学会调节情绪。但是，该假设在很大程度上仍然是理论上的。当前的研究（N = 415）通过对国家早期启蒙研究和评估项目（EHSREP）父亲教研研究（Boller等，2006; Love等， （2005年）检查父亲入学前的积极活动（在儿童的36个月生日相关评估中衡量）与发展成果（认知，社会和情感调节）之间的关系。研究结果表明，父亲和幼儿之间定期的积极体育锻炼与改善的发育结果有关。但是，研究结果支持曲线关系，因此适度的积极活动与儿童的结局更好相关，而积极活动的过少或过多与较差的结果有关，尤其是对于具有较易动的气质的孩子。重要的是，这些发现不能与父亲从事的其他类型的育儿活动（例如给孩子读书或在用餐时参与）重复使用，这表明这种游戏与孩子的成长之间存在特殊的关系。此外，研究结果表明，情绪活跃的孩子可能会从与父亲的积极娱乐时间中受益最大。