Attitudes of parents toward play for their children at home and in the hospital

Abstract

The main purpose of this study is to discover the attitudes of parents toward play and to reveal how they recognize the play needs of their children at home and in the hospital. Play, especially in the preschool period, is an integral part of every child's life and necessary for his continuing development. The child entering the hospital brings with him his everyday needs along with those presented by his particular illness. Thus play as a tool for the child's growth and as a medium for expression of feeling would seem even more important in the potentially traumatic hospital setting. [TRUNCATED]