Objectives The purpose of this study was to identify and analyze the experiences of fathers with young children when they play with their children and how they perceive play through metaphor analysis. Through this, it is to understand the thoughts of fathers when playing with their children and to use them as basic data for developing parent education programs for fathers with young children in the future.
 Methods Questionnaires were distributed and collected from three kindergartens in K province, and random sampling was conducted using Google Form. A total of 267 questionnaires were collected, but 211 questionnaires were analyzed except for 56 questionnaires that were difficult to analyze. Data analysis SPSS 26 was used for descriptive statistics-frequency analysis.
 Results There were a total of 160 types of metaphors for fathers about play with their early childhood children. it was divided into two categories: ‘thoughts of playing with young children’ and ‘children's play’ due to different father's perceptions on play. ‘Thoughts of playing with young children’ are categorized into six themes: play as emotion, play as relationship, play as growth, play mixed with affirmation and negativity, play as education, and play as the essence of life. ‘Children's play’ is categorized into three themes: play as growth, play as the essence of life, and play as emotion.
 Conclusions Fathers generally perceived the play with their young children positively, and recognized the play actively, not passively, while some fathers perceived the play negatively or ambivalently. The most frequently identified metaphorical expression in this study was ‘memories’. Fathers connected their fathers, themselves, and children through play, and their children will also positively remember the play they had with them at some point in the future.
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