Interrelations of Playful Parenting Style with Kindergarten Children’s Playfulness and Well-Being

Fung, Wing Kai and Chung, Kevin Kien Hoa and Li, Anna Pui Yi (2026) Interrelations of Playful Parenting Style with Kindergarten Children’s Playfulness and Well-Being. Early Education and Development. ISSN 1040-9289

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Abstract

This cross-sectional, survey-based study investigated the interrelations of playful parenting style with playfulness and well-being of kindergarten children. Participants were parents (87.3% mothers, 11.8% fathers) and teachers (N = 34) of 228 kindergarten children in Hong Kong (mean age = 5.01 years, 59.2% boys). Parents reported demographic information (i.e., child age, child gender, parent education, and household income), their playful parenting style, and their child’s playfulness, whereas teachers rated children’s emotional well-being (positive and negative) and character strengths (interpersonal, intellectual, temperance, and transcendence strengths) in the school context through questionnaires. Research Findings: Results from a path analytic model revealed that the indirect relations of playful parenting style with children’s positive emotional well-being and interpersonal, intellectual, temperance, and transcendence strengths, mediated through child playfulness, were positive and significant. However, the relation with negative emotional well-being was non-significant. Practice or Policy: The results highlighted a playful parenting style and child playfulness as plausible protective factors associated with children’s well-being in the school context. Practically, promoting a playful parenting style at home may be a good way to support holistic early childhood development, fostering emotional resilience, character strengths, and overall well-being.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information and Comments:	© 2026 The Author(s). This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, and is not altered, transformed, or built upon in any way.
Faculty / Department:	Faculty of Education and Social Sciences > School of Education
SWORD Depositor:	RISE Symplectic
Depositing User:	RISE Symplectic
Date Deposited:	05 Jun 2026 09:46
Last Modified:	29 Jul 2026 13:36
URI:	https://hira.hope.ac.uk/id/eprint/4929

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