Examining the relationship between fathers with their own fathers and children in the context of theory of mind

In the preschool period, while the foundations of the person that children will become in the future are laid in many ways, there are multiple factors that affect this process. It is known that one of these factors is parents. This research aims to examine the relationships of fathers with their own fathers and children. Theory of Mind was chosen as the context while examining this relationship. Theory of Mind can be summarized as the ability to make inferences in line with other people's thinking processes. In this study examining the mental processes of the father-child relationship, the research group consists of fathers of 60-72 month-old children who attend kindergarten in 2023-2024. The data were collected with an open-ended questionnaire developed by the researcher based on Theory of Mind. The research was carried out with the phenomenological model, one of the qualitative research methods. The obtained data were examined in detail with the content analysis method and presented. According to the findings, although fathers were weak in understanding each other's feelings with their own fathers and acting accordingly, they cared about the feelings of their own children and acted accordingly. It was understood that they were shy in persuasion and defense behaviors with their own fathers and encouraged their own children in this regard. It was found that fathers cannot understand their fathers' lying behavior and are closed to thinking/feeling differently, but they act consciously as fathers. It was understood that they cannot have polite conversations with their fathers, they play games very little, and they pay attention to the rules of politeness and play various games with their children. Although it was seen that fathers do not joke with their fathers, do not use innuendo/irony/bluff, and have difficulty understanding intentions, it was seen that they joke with their children, sometimes use innuendo/irony/bluff, and can understand intentions.