Child And Father Rough And Tumble Play Assignment

Child And Father Rough
And Tumble Play

Table of Contents
Introduction...........................................................................................................................................1
Main Body.........................................................................................................................................1
Father-Child RTP and Children's Developmental Outcomes.............................................................3
Influences on Father-Child Rough and Tumble Play.........................................................................6
Quantity and Quality of RTP in Father-Child RTP............................................................................6
Gender Difference in Father-Child RTP............................................................................................8
Conclusion.............................................................................................................................................9
References.............................................................................................................................................9

Introduction
Childhood memories which involve tickling, chasing, wrestling, lifting, swing and
being bounced is being referred to as rough and tumble play. It refers to physical vigorous
behaviour which brings in affirmative feelings among players (Anderson, Qiu and Wheeler,
2017). This leads to creation of affirmative emotion among all the individuals who are
involved within this, brings in smile, laugh along with cheerful yelling. Rough play assists
children to acknowledge their limits, explore altering positions within the space and work
with social relationship to sort out their personal boundaries. This assignment is based on
father & child rough & tumble play and what impact is created on child with respect to their
gender along with quality of return to play.
Main Body
Father within the family was involved like an economic provider in ancient times so
that they can upraise their child with higher effectiveness. There has been the alteration
within the mother role who acts like a caregiver for their child but at present they are
involved within labour force along with ideologies for being a good parent (Coyl-Shepherd
and Hanlon, 2013). Through the shift within paternal involvement father is not only
considered as a breadwinner but is also responsible for carrying out the activities that are
associated with upbringing of their children. Parenting time of father’s has been increased but
by carrying out research it has been analysed that mothers are more involved with their
children in various aspects of engagement as compared to fathers with exception for carrying
out play activities.
According to empirical study that was carried out by Russell and Rusell (1987), mothers are
more engaged with their children and emphasise on rendering care giving (e.g., child-need
tasks, school work) services to them. On the other hand, fathers are only involved in their
children in play activities (e.g., rough and tumble play, outdoor games) as compared to
activities that are being carried out by mothers’ in context of engagement (Hagman, 2014).
The amount of paternal involvement which is associated with caretaking activities is lower as
compared to maternal involvement Fathers have significantly achieved higher scores in
context of playing quality part than mothers’ scores.
Play activities has been introduced as a relevant contributor within child development and
might be regarded as an essential way of parenting for yielding play opportunities for having
advantages in context of child cognitive as well as emotional skills (Ginsburg, 2007).

Physical play can be taken into consideration as a typical or common play within the father
and child relationship while they both play different activities. The relation that is shared in
between mother and child is of care giving & assisting them within different activities they
have to carry out. Each have individual role but their existence creates a strong impact on the
mind frame of a child. Rough and Tumble play (RTP) can be defined as a physical activity
play which includes vigorous and aggressive behaviours such as grappling, tumbling and
wrestling within a playful manner (Harbin, 2016).
Various RTP researches have been carried out with respect to father and child for carrying
out investigation in context of child development outcomes. Father-child RTP has been
associated with improving child social competence, aggression while playing and enhancing
their self-confidence to stand back and try till they attain what is required (Hart and Nagel,
2017). But another study showed that father-child RTP is negatively related to child
illustrates that there is less aggression and it is more related with emotions of child like if
they fall what is their reaction or how they behave. Basically, it pointed out towards
regulation of emotions within a child with respect to different situations which prevails in
while playing or doing anything (Flanders et al., 2009). The research has been carried out
with respect relationship that is shared in between father child RTP as well as the cognitive
outcomes. Though, the huge amounts of studies have pointed out towards involvement of
father along with physical plays that leads to create an influence on cognitive development of
a child.
Cognitive development indicated the thinking process of a child and the way in which they
perceives different aspects related with playing whether it’s wrestling or swinging. They have
their own perspectives. Moreover, studies indicate that majority of study or research has been
carried out with respect to quantitative frame for an instance in terms of frequency that
denotes a predominant measure within father-child RTP (Ismael and Lawson, 2012).
. With respect to quality research within father-child RTP it has been analysed that father’s
involvement can be determined through the interaction which takes place in between them
and at what amount it is being carried out along with this in which dimensions, it goes has
been evaluated. According to Paquette and Dumont (2013) argue that the developmental
psychologists have verified that quality of father-child involvement is directly associated with
outcomes attained from development of child rather than evaluation of quantity of
involvement which takes place (Paquette and Dumont, 2013). Additionally, this father-child

play more frequently appear in father-son dyads rather than father-daughter dyads which
indicate that father engage more RTP with boys compared to girls (MajdandžIć, 2017). This
shows that there is a difference in between gender while they are kids. This seems that
relationship that is shared in between father-child RTP along with child cognitive outcome is
affected by the gender of child which might create a strong impact on their thinking process
since childhood. This denotes that there is a relevant pessimistic or affirmative influence
rendered on child cognitive outcomes.
For accomplishment of this, the first part will be illustrated in this section that is
father child RTP through gender of child with the utilisation of empirical literature. The other
section will be providing in-depth knowledge with respect to father child RTP on
developmental outcomes on child. Within the third section, this relationship will be identified
on the basis of both quantity and quality. At last the entire hypothesis will be presented to
illustrate the overall impact that is being created on the mindset of child and the way of their
behaviour (Stevenson, 2014).
Father-Child RTP and Children's Developmental Outcomes
Studies have suggested that play activities are more central to father’s parenting style rather
than that of mother’s parenting style. Findings related with studies demonstrated that fathers
participate with their children in play activities (e.g., playing games, rough and tumble play)
at higher proportion of interaction by which they can learn how to play. On the other hand,
mothers significantly spend more interaction time with their children in functional and work-
related activities (e.g., bathing and feeding child, school work) so that they can inculcate
good habits in them. This leads to have overall developmental of a child both in terms of
mental and physical perspectives. Interaction of father and child in play activities has been
described as active, physical, vigorous or risky, encouraging a child to explore and learning
their limits within playful context (Stgeorge and Freeman, 2017). This unstructured, playful,
competitive and wrestle-style play is known as ‘Rough and Tumble Play’ (RTP). RTP is
physical activities that occur in playful context and includes wrestling, chasing, climbing and
falling.
Consistently, as a paternal style play activity such as Rough and Tumble Play is more
common in paternal parenting as compared to maternal parenting. Paquette et al. (2003) study
found that 51 percent of fathers are engaged in RTP with their children at least once a week
and on the other hand around 23 percent of mothers’ RTP engagement. These results indicate

that it is fathers who engage more in RTP with their children rather than mothers. In addition,
mothers mostly engage in empathic/reflective conversation whereas fathers tend to play RTP
with letting the child lead carry out interaction (StGeorge and et. al, 2015). Viewing this type
of play as a unique way of father-child interaction may offer insight into speciality of father’s
play. They tend to copy their parents and behave like them with different situations.
Although studies on father and child Rough and Tumble Play (RTP) do exist, it is a relatively
novel and fairly under-researched area compared to research on RTP with peers. However,
Rough and Tumble Play (RTP) involve analysing role of father within the wellbeing of their
child in terms of financial security which is being given to them (child). Through research it
has been found that rough and tumble is high energy game in which each individual involved
enjoys this. But there is a possibility that child might get hurt but there is no intention of
anyone for this (StGeorge, Goodwin and Fletcher, 2018). A few of the studies have revealed
that father-child RTP affects child developmental outcomes. According to Paquette and his
colleagues’ study (2003), children who are highly motivated to win in RTP with their fathers
and who tend to play longer, have a stronger relation and are competitive rather than only
having a physical aggression. Consequently, they argue that these competition skills could be
beneficial for these children within the complex social interactions/life when they need to
defend or assert themselves in the competitive situations.
Furthermore, some research has suggested that father-child RTP may contribute within the
development of a abilities of child for self-regulation. According to different authors, father-
child RTP provides a child with self-regulatory challenges because children can mediate and
regulate their physical contact towards play-partner and attune their body as understanding of
motivations and emotions of others. This process leads to stimulate aggression-regulation
ability within a child as a consequence of RTP. Additionally, Paquette (2004) has suggested
that fathers can support the development of self-control of child through RTP by modelling
appropriate behaviour along with formulation of some limitations. These researchers have
argued that RTP may be beneficial as it may cultivate the ability to self-regulate aggressive
emotions and behaviours (StGeorge, Goodwin and Fletcher, 2018). As discussed above, a
significant relationship has been identified between self-regulation and aggression, and
father-child RTP. Unfortunately, research into the relationship between father-child RTP and
child cognitive outcomes is limited although there is research that has demonstrated that a
father’s involvement and RTP leads to creation of influence on cognitive development.

A majority of studies suggest that a father’s engagement can have a powerful influence on
child’s cognitive development. This influence has been found in infants as young as 5 months
who have a highly involved father in terms of more engagement within play and care giving
activities obtain a higher score on a cognitive measure (i.e., Bayley Scales of Infant
Development) than others who are involved less within such kind of activities (Hagman,
2014). This cognitive advantage continuously impacts on them as they get older. It has been
reported that children of 3 years old who have a highly involved father, whose involvement
consists of high levels of play, have a higher IQ in comparison to children who have a less
involved father develop in an affirmative manner. Additionally, father’s physical care (i.e.,
feeding meal) and warm play (i.e., tickle) have been found to have a decreased likelihood of a
cognitive delay in reaching babbling and exploration of objects with an aim. Infants who had
involved within nurturing and playful activities have higher IQ as well as language
performance. These advantages of involved fathering become even more noticeable as the
child grows up. It is suggested within the articles that a child's cognitive outcomes may be
improved as a result of fathers who are more involved with their child (Hart and Nagel,
2017). The variety of stimuli resulting from interaction with both parents, whose behaviour
and vocabulary differ, is seen as highly advantageous to cognitive outcomes. Children with
involved fathers tend to demonstrate better competency of cognition in intelligence.
Although there is no literature to support the effect of father-child RTP on cognitive
developmental outcomes, there is a small body of research related with this in brain
development which can be related to cognition (Harbin, 2016). This has been discussed,
through which the enjoyable RTP may help within development of the frontal lobe for
children with ADHD (Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder). These children’s possess
higher activity level and might be signalling a need for a longer period of active play in order
to facilitate the development of their frontal lobe. Through the research related with cognitive
influence of father’s involvement and role of RTP, it can be extrapolated that in case if within
Rough and Tumble Play, father is engaged in with his child may influence that in a range of
child’s cognitive outcomes (Hypothesis 1).

Influences on Father-Child Rough and Tumble Play
Quantity and Quality of RTP in Father-Child RTP
A various range of behaviours, elements of RTP were measured by three attributes of play;
“quantity” attributes which denotes the frequency of play and the duration of play, and a set
of “quality” attribute which includes qualities or evocative characteristics of play (Stgeorge &
Freeman, 2017). The measure of frequency is generally used by researchers. Frequency was
assessed as a number of occurrences of RTP within a given time frame. To measure the
frequency of father-child RTP, researchers make use of frequency-based Likert scales in self-
report questionnaire (for an instance, how many times do you do Rough and Tumble Play a
week?). Self-report questionnaires are advantageous as through these respondents tend to be
more motivated to share details about themselves rather than others and are efficient to obtain
the data from large number of participants. They are hypothesised so that frequency of father-
child RTP is associated can be attained with respect to the child’s aggressive behaviours and
this frequency of RTP is utilised for investigating the prevalence of father-child RTP and
child physical aggression.
Importantly, although many researchers have been used frequency in their studies, they have
emphasised for the future direction that the importance of father-child RTP is not only
frequency but also quality of relationship shared in between them (Ismael and Lawson,
2012). Along with this, assessments of father-child RTP should be taken into consideration as
dimensions of father-child interaction which have been neglected within the research.
Moreover, the quality attributes of RTP have considered fairly and recent studies shows that
quality attributes were used to measure the association between play and child behaviours.
For this, researchers used multiple quality attributes reported as multiple single items or as
composite variables.
Moreover, it seems that quality attributes of RTP and play creates an influence on child
outcomes. Lines of studies have identified quality attributes of RTP that are related with
certain factors or results attained with respect to this relation (MajdandžIć, 2017). Father’s
play sensitivity is an important predictor of child attachment and when the father fails to
dominant or control during RTP in preschool years of child then it might lead to development
of physical aggression and poor emotional regulation even after five years. In high quality of
RTP, consider father and child attributes as an ‘interaction’ play. However, these studies only
pay attention on father’s attributes rather than overall quality attributes. The studies shows

that researchers have developed an observational measure of RTP-Quality which can estimate
father-child interaction during play by observing the appearance of appropriate, sensitivity
and reciprocal behaviour based on standard attachment measures (Paquette and Dumont,
2013). The measure of RTP-Quality (RTP-Q) is further established by adding constructing
attributes such as warmth, control, sensitivity, winning and losing, physical engagement and
playfulness. This not only denotes individual and dyadic behaviours but also verbal and non-
verbal behaviours. The researchers didn’t focus on so much in specific behaviours, but paid
attention to the quality of the father–child interaction in RTP identical to clusters of
behaviours. However, it hasn’t been studied within any of research that by using the measure
of quality in RTP although there is research on the validity of the measurement.
A measure of quantity and quality is of central importance to assess not only play but also
view father’s involvement. The developmental psychologists have repeatedly demonstrated
that in intact father-present families, the quality of father-child involvement is more clearly
linked to children’s development outcomes than quantity of involvement (Stevenson, 2014).
In fact, if the quality is inferior or harmful (e.g., in case of an abusive father) than it can be
linked to poorer developmental outcomes for the child. More involvement is sometimes
better if the quality of involvement is high, but more involvement is clearly not always linked
with better outcomes. Therefore, this study will investigate using both quantity and quality of
RTP on child cognitive outcome (Hypothesis 2).
Gender Difference in Father-Child RTP
By carrying out different studies it has been observed that fathers tend to engage more
in RTP with boys than with girls. They examined an observational study to understand the
relationship between father-child RTP and the regulation of children’s aggressive behaviours.
The 85 father-child dyads participated in this study with a similar sample size of boys (n =
43) and girls (n = 42). Although, the study shows that there is no effect on the relationship
between father-child RTP and child aggression by the gender of the child, they found that
sons are engaged in RTP with their fathers more as compared to daughters.
Furthermore, according to current study, it was observed that 35 father-son dyads and 34
father-daughter dyads (fathers’ age: 22-55 years, children’s age: 1-2 years) were recruited in
order to investigate whether father-son play activities differs from father-daughter play
activities (Stgeorge and Freeman, 2017). They demonstrated that father-son dyads RTP
engagement is significantly more than father-daughters’ RTP engagement. Even the

participants are controlled by yearly income, weekly working hours and cultural heritage. A
similar pattern in child gender difference is evident within the studies. A difference in
fathers’ physical engagement, with respect to the gender of the child, seems to be more
prevalent in the early stages of a child’s life (StGeorge and et. al, 2015). Fathers are more
engaged within lifting and tossing up of boys rather than girls at the age of eight months.
Girls tend to receive less physical play than boys from their fathers. Furthermore, fathers
spend more time and are involved in higher levels of RTP with their sons than with their
daughters which points towards a father’s discrimination of gender-appropriate play. As an
example of this, a study conducted in which their descriptive results revealed that 66% of
fathers are engaged within RTP with their sons at least once a week in comparison to only
35% who reported engaged in RTP at least once a week with their daughters.
Additionally, a study demonstrated the role of child gender in relation between rough and
tumble play and affective social competence skills. The results shows interaction in between
RTP and the gender of the child in emotional expressiveness that boys who engaged in more
RTP express more positive emotions in peer group (i.e., happiness, joy) but girls display less
positive emotion in peer group (StGeorge, Goodwin and Fletcher, 2018). The researchers
suggest that the effect of RTP may differ according to gender of the child. Collectively,
gender of the child may play role as powerful component in father-child RTP which may
influence the relationship between father-child RTP and child cognitive outcomes
(Hypothesis 3).
Conclusion
From above, it can be illustrated that the aim of this observational study is to provide
insight into potential role of father-child RTP on the cognitive development by the gender of
child, quantity and quality of RTP. This study will pay attention to examine frequency of
RTP and qualities of father-child are associated with child cognitive outcomes. Moreover,
does gender of child influence the relationship between frequency of RTP and quality of RTP
and child cognitive outcomes.

References
Books & Journals
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ROUGH‐AND‐TUMBLE PLAY AND TODDLERS’AGGRESSIVE BEHAVIOR IN
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Coyl-Shepherd, D.D. and Hanlon, C., 2013. Family play and leisure activities: correlates of
parents' and children's socio-emotional well-being. International Journal of
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Hagman, A., 2014. Father-child play behaviors and child emotion regulation.
Harbin, S.J., 2016. Gender differences in rough and tumble play behaviors. International
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Hart, J.L. and Nagel, M.C., 2017. Including playful aggression in early childhood curriculum
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Arizona State University.
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StGeorge, J.M., Goodwin, J.C. and Fletcher, R.J., 2018. Parents’ views of father–child rough-
and-tumble play. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 27(5), pp.1502-1512.
StGeorge, J.M., Goodwin, J.C. and Fletcher, R.J., 2018. Parents’ views of father–child rough-
and-tumble play. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 27(5), pp.1502-1512.