The Influence of Parent-child Toys and Time of Playing Together on Children’s Problem-Solving Skills in the Early Post-COVID Years

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted family lifestyles, children's capabilities, and parent-child interactions. This study aimed to explore the influences of parent-child interactions with toys and playing time on children’s problem-solving abilities in post-COVID-19. The research process included two phases: (1) Literature Review: The relationship among playtime, toy types, and children’s capability to solve problems.; and (2) Questionnaire Analyses. The questionnaire focuses on the influences of different types of parent-child toys and the time of playing together for age 2-6 kids on problem-solving skills. Choosing 32 questions from Social Problem-Solving Questionnaire (SPSQ) and Problem-Solving Style Questionnaire (PSSQ), preschool education specialists designed this questionnaire. Questionnaires were distributed in December 2023, and 30 of them were collected. The results are as follows. (1) Learning toys with numbers and symbols that aid in reading can help develop children’s logical thinking, thereby enhancing problem-solving skills. When parents and children engage in studying picture or illustration books together, it nurtures children's language capabilities and fosters interest in learning. Furthermore, sensory-motor playthings have a significant impact on the language development of children.; and (2) Children from families with accompanying playtime during 17:00-18:00 (before school time) or 21:00-22:00 (before/during bedtime) showed good analytical problem-solving capabilities. When faced with a complex problem, these children could identify the most crucial factor and, if they encountered a bottleneck, they would review the problem's context and related conditions to devise alternative solutions.

Keywords: Post-COVID-19, Dual-income families lifestyles, Problem Solving, Parent-child Interactions, Toys

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1005445

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