KUMJ | VOL. 19 | NO. 2 | ISSUE 74 | APRIL-JUNE 2021
Mothers’ Perception of Their Children’s Play in Dhulikhel Hospital, Nepal
Karki S, Shrestha S, Shrestha K
Abstract: Background
Play is a cherished part of childhood that offers children holistic developmental
benefits and parents the opportunity to fully engage with their children. However,
modern-day children are spending significantly less time in outdoor play due to a
number of factors including technological advancements, more time involved in
structured activities, and a greater emphasis on early cognitive learning.
Objective
To assess perception of mothers on their children’s play.
Method
This was a descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out among the 228 mothers
having at least one child children who attended in Paediatric OPD of Dhulikhel
hospital of Nepal from 21
st
June, 2018 to 16
th
July, 2019. Ethical approval was obtained
from the Institutional Review Committee (IRC) of Kathmandu University School of
Medical Sciences (KUSMS). Research instrument was developed by Barnett and was
adopted for this study with permission from the author. Systematic random sampling
technique was used to select mothers and face to face interview was carried out to
collect information.
Result
Perception on play of children in the mothers was varied. Most of mothers agreed
on different subscales of play with mean range 2.07-3.01 in which they were agreed
on freedom play with mean score 3.01±0.40, importance of play with mean score
2.93±0.37 and nearly agreed on maternal rule with mean score 2.89±0.50, play
safety with mean score 2.92±0.36, child’s choice with mean score 2.96±0.49 and
disagreed on imaginative play with mean score 2.42±0.59 and gender typing with
mean score 2.07±0.51.
Conclusion
Although almost all respondents had positive attitudes towards different component
of the play, they disagreed on gender typing and imaginative play which is very
important for developing problem solving skill of children based on their gender. So,
nursing faculties, pediatricians and nurses can use the findings to develop awareness
on importance of gender typing and imaginative playamong mothers.
Keyword : Children, Mothers, Play, Perception
