This study examined the effects of fathers' play participation on young
children's social competence and self-regulation. The subjects consisted of 180
fathers with children at ages between 4-7 years old from 2 preschools and 3
kindergartens located in Y city in Gyeonggi province. The analyses used for this
study included the t-test and multiple regression analysis. The main findings are
as follows. First, fathers' play participation was not different by
sociodemographic characteristics such as fathers' age, educational level, and job.
Second, fathers' participation in functional play, role play, and constructive play
was positively related to social activator, reassurance, and cooperation among
subscales on children's social competence. Also, fathers' participation in games
was negatively related to reassurance among children and positively related to
hypersensitivity among children. Third, fathers' participation in role play and
functional play was positively related to children's self-monitoring and
self-control. These findings suggest emphasizing fathers' play participation to
improve children's social competence and children's self-regulation, and it can
be helpful to underline fathers' education and to develop programs for fathers'
play.