The purpose of this study was to analyze metaphors of child caregivers concerning children play. Data was collected from 198 child caregivers who are in Gyoungbuk province. The results of this study can be summarized as follows. 47 final statements were finally generated based on the perception on play, and were classified into two dimensions of “play itself as a purpose” and “play as a means”. In addition, the statements were classified into six clusters: ‘happiness virus’, ‘adaptation channel’, ‘source of existence’, ‘development improvement’, ‘educational effect’ and ‘promoting creative thinking’. And the analysis showed that the perception of child caregiver differ upon the participants’s career. This study provides implication for support necessary for child caregiver or the direction of childcare education course to form the desirable perception on play.