Relations between Fantasy Orientation, Pretense and Parental Attitudes in Preschool Children

Abstract

Fantasy orientation (FO) refers to the individual differences to the extent that children prefer pretend activities over real ones. In the current study, the relations between children’s FO, pretend play, and parental attitudes towards child's play were examined. Seventy-eight 3- to 4- year-old children and their parents participated in the study. FO was assessed with child interviews and parent questionnaires. Several behavioral tasks were administered to measure pretend play. The parents also completed a questionnaire about their attitudes towards child’s play behavior. The results showed that there are gender differences in children’s FO: Boys preferred real games, thoughts, and activities more often than the pretend ones. However, girls’ pretend and real preferences did not differ. Yet, overall, girls preferred more pretend games, thoughts, and activities and were more fantasy-oriented compared to the boys. Children’s pretend play was not associated with parental attitudes towards play behavior. However, there were associations between pretend play and FO: The amount of time spent pretend playing was correlated with children’s FO. Further, parents’ positive attitudes regarding pretense predicted higher FO in children. Also, only for boys, parents’ stance on the educational value of pretend play predicted higher FO. The findings and implications are discussed.