The purpose of this study was to examine the main and interaction effects of
fathers’ parenting and their play participation on emotional regulation of
preschoolers. The participants of this study consisted of 269 preschoolers (M: 61.4
months, SD: 15.3) located in Seoul and Gyeong-gi province. The results of
regression analysis revealed that; 1) Father's parenting (such as rational
instruction, friendly attitude) positively predicted child's emotion regulations. 2)
The interaction effects of fathers’ parenting (such as parenting participation,
reaction, rational instruction, friendly attitude) with their constructive play
participation predicted children’s emotion regulations. Namely, fathers with higher
constructive play participation showed higher emotion regulations of preschoolers
under father's parenting participation, reaction, rational instruction and friendly
attitude. 3) The interaction effects between fathers’ functional play participation
and father's parenting participation predicted children's emotion regulations.
Findings indicate that fathers play a role in improving children’s emotion
regulation by parenting. Moreover, its effects appeared more apparently when
fathers participated with constructive and functional play methods. In conclusion,
it is suggested that fathering and the level of play involvement may be key
variables for developing young children's emotion regulation.