Limitations of Online Play Content for Parents of Infants and Toddlers

TL;DR

The paper examines how online play content falls short for parents of infants and toddlers by identifying challenges in parent-child play and limitations of online guidance. Using online interviews with nine parents and affinity-diagram analysis, the authors derive ten findings that separate general play difficulties from content-specific issues. They argue that online content currently induces anxiety, lacks credibility, fails to accommodate diverse play scenarios, and stifles parental creativity. To address this, they propose a hybrid, multi-format, scenario-aware guidance framework with tailored, credible information and interactive, adaptive content as groundwork for future tools to support more effective parent-child play.

Abstract

Play is a fundamental aspect of developmental growth, yet many parents encounter significant challenges in fulfilling their caregiving roles in this area. As online content increasingly serves as the primary source of parental guidance, this study investigates the difficulties parents face related to play and evaluates the limitations of current online content. We identified ten findings through in-depth interviews with nine parents who reported struggles in engaging with their children during play. Based on these findings, we discuss the major limitations of online play content and suggest how they can be improved. These recommendations include minimizing parental anxiety, accommodating diverse play scenarios, providing credible and personalized information, encouraging creativity, and delivering the same content in multiple formats.

Figures (1)

• Figure 1: Our definition of the structure of play.