Characteristics of indoor rough-and-tumble play (R&T) with physical contact between players in preschool

Abstract

The purpose of this paper was to qualitatively identify and categorize the diverse characteristics of rough-and tumble play (R&T) with physical contact between players among 3- to 5-year-old children in preschool. Previous categorization of R&T has been, to a large extent, based on observations of school-age children. Thus, it is interesting to examine how younger children engage in R&T in preschool in order to obtain more descriptive data regarding the forms of physical activity play and the age-related trends through childhood. Analyses show that previous categories of R&T are applicable for indoor R&T in preschool. However, tumbling has emerged as a distinct category. This new insight contributes to the more accurate categorization of younger children’s R&T with physical contact between players, which can support the practitioner’s ability to make informed observations of individuals’ participation in R&T.

Keywords

• Rough-and-tumble play
• preschool children
• social affordances
• grounded theory