Influence du statut socio-économique sur le développement du jeu chez les enfants – une étude mère enfant basée sur l'interaction dyadique

Purpose: The present study aimed to analyze the influence of SES on play skills in toddlers during a mother–child dyadic interaction. Methodology: The study followed a cross sectional study design and included forty toddlers between the ages of 2–3 yrs, with their mothers. Participants were divided based on their SES into two groups as Group 1[Middle Socio-Economic State (MSES)] and Group 2 [Lower Socio- Economic Status (LSES)] with an equal number of participants in each group (20). Dyadic interaction between the mother and the toddler was recorded for 25 minutes for both the groups. The first and the last 5 minutes were excluded from the analysis and the middle 15 minutes were coded using the Play observation Scheme. Results and conclusion: The present study findings indicate a strong social class effect on the play skills demonstrated by toddlers. The findings of the present study indicated that the occurrences of interactive play such as Associative and Cooperative play were higher in toddlers of the MSES group compared to the LSES group. Another interesting finding is the significant difference in the occurrence of Simple and Complex pretend play between the two groups, with the MSES group outperforming their peers in the LSES group. An insight into the play skills of toddlers from low-income household would be helpful in creating awareness about the importance of play for holistic child development. It could also aid in the development of play assessment and intervention for toddlers from these socio-economic strata.