Objective: This study analyse the structural relationships of mothers’ play participation, and smart-media mediation, as well children’s self-control and peer competence tendency.
Method: Two hundred and eighty-three mothers of children aged 3–5 years were recruited as study participants. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS 25.0 and AMOS 25.0. The statistical methods adopted for data analysis were descriptive statistics, Pearson’s correlation, structural equation modeling and bootstrapping.
Results: First, mothers’ play participation and smart-media mediation had a significantly positive effect on children’s self-control. Moreover, children’s self-control affected their peer competence. Second, children’s self-control indicated a complete mediating effect between mothers’ play participation and children’s peer competence. Moreover, children’s self-control indicated a complete mediating effect between mothers’ smart-media mediation and children’s peer competence.
Conclusion: The results show that to improve children’s peer competence, their self-control can be managed through mothers’ increased play participation and smart-media mediation.