Free play predicts self-regulation years later: Longitudinal evidence from a large Australian sample of toddlers and preschoolers

Self-regulation skills are foundational to successful participation in society, and predict a suite of positive outcomes throughout life. It has long been asserted that free (i.e., unstructured) play is important for the development of self-regulation, but studies investigating play and self-regulation have faced empirical limitations. The current study used a large sample (n = 2213) from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children to investigate time spent in unstructured quiet and active play activities at ages 2-3 and 45 years as a predictor of self-regulation abilities 2 years later. Children's play was reported by parents who completed a 24-hour time-use diary for 1 random weekend day and 1 weekday. Self-regulation was indexed at ages 4-5 and 6-7 by parent-, teacher- and observer-reported items comparable to similar large, longitudinal studies. Results showed that the more time children spent in unstructured quiet play in the toddler and preschool years, the better their self-regulation abilities at ages 4-5 and 6-7 years, even after controlling for earlier self-regulation abilities and other known predictors. Further, between 1 and 5 hours of preschoolers' unstructured active play time significantly predicted self-regulation 2 years later. This study provides early support for parenting programs designed to increase opportunities for children to spend time in unstructured, free play in the early years. (C) 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Automated summary

Self-regulation skills are crucial for successful participation in society, and early exposure to unstructured play activities can predict future self-regulation abilities. This study used a large sample to investigate the relationship between play time and self-regulation in children, finding that more time spent in unstructured play during early childhood was associated with better self-regulation abilities.