abstract: 'Objective: Parents'' perceived benefits and barriers to participation in

  cognitively stimulating activities may help explain why income-related

  discrepancies in early and frequent participation in such activities

  exist. We sought to develop an improved understanding of attitudes and

  beliefs surrounding play among families who live in predominantly

  low-income urban communities. Methods: Using qualitative methods, focus

  groups were conducted with parents of children 2 weeks to 24 months of

  age who attended a primary care clinic serving predominantly low-income

  urban communities. Discussions were recorded, transcribed verbatim, and

  analyzed using thematic analysis. Results: Thirty-five parents

  participated in 6 focus groups. Participants were 61\% female and 94\%

  nonwhite; 71\% had children who received public health insurance.

  Analyses revealed 7 major themes that mapped onto the Health Belief

  Model''s core domains of perceived need, barriers, and cues to action:

  (1) play as important for developing parent-child relationships, (2)

  toy- and media-focused play as important for developmental and

  educational benefit, (3) lack of time due to household and work demands,

  (4) lack of knowledge regarding the importance of play, (5)

  media-related barriers, (6) need for reminders, and (7) need for ideas

  for play. Conclusion: Caregivers of young children describe many

  important benefits of play, yet they have misconceptions regarding use

  of toys and media in promoting development as well as notable barriers

  to participating in play, which may be opportunities for intervention.

  Public health programs may be more effectively implemented if they

  consider these attitudes to develop new or refine existing strategies

  for promoting parent-child learning activities.'
affiliation: 'Shah, R (Corresponding Author), Univ Illinois, Coll Med, Dept Pediat,
  840 South Wood St,MC 856, Chicago, IL 60612 USA.

  Shah, Reshma, Univ Illinois, Coll Med, Dept Pediat, 840 South Wood St,MC 856, Chicago,
  IL 60612 USA.

  Gustafson, Erika; Atkins, Marc, Univ Illinois, Dept Psychiat, Inst Juvenile Res,
  Chicago, IL 60612 USA.'
author: Shah, Reshma and Gustafson, Erika and Atkins, Marc
author-email: reshmamd@uic.edu
author_list:
- family: Shah
  given: Reshma
- family: Gustafson
  given: Erika
- family: Atkins
  given: Marc
da: '2023-09-28'
doi: 10.1097/DBP.0000000000000708
eissn: 1536-7312
files: []
issn: 0196-206X
journal: JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENTAL AND BEHAVIORAL PEDIATRICS
keywords: parenting; play; communication; development; early childhood
keywords-plus: HEALTHY CHILD-DEVELOPMENT; LANGUAGE; FOCUS
language: English
month: OCT-NOV
number: '8'
number-of-cited-references: '30'
orcid-numbers: Gustafson, Erika/0000-0003-2774-6745
pages: 606-612
papis_id: fc0345c3a2d282e9e7b70322d7556544
ref: Shah2019parentalattitudes
times-cited: '2'
title: 'Parental Attitudes and Beliefs Surrounding Play Among Predominantly Low-income
  Urban Families: A Qualitative Study'
type: article
unique-id: WOS:000509675400005
usage-count-last-180-days: '0'
usage-count-since-2013: '8'
volume: '40'
web-of-science-categories: Behavioral Sciences; Psychology, Developmental; Pediatrics
year: '2019'