Examining the opinion on play of Uzbek and Turkish mothers who have early childhood-age children

All children play, regardless of their language, race, socio-economic level, gender and geography Play is as important as nutrition, love and care for a child. Parents' opinion on play can affect their children's play. Determining the perceptions of parents about play is believed to be important in this respect. The aim of this research is to examine the opinions on play and play experiences of mothers as well as place of play in their children's lives, and to compare the play perceptions of mothers living in Turkey and Uzbekistan, n two cultures. The explanatory sequential mixed methods design was used. The data were obtained through a survey from 81 mothers from Turkey and Uzbekistan and interviews with 10 mothers from both countries. While descriptive statistical analysis were used for the survey data, content analysis was used to analyze the data obtained through interview. It was observed that the majority of Turkish and Uzbek mothers think that children play for fun and emphasize the fun feature of play. While there was no meaningful difference in play perceptions of the Uzbek and Turkish mothers, there were differences in play areas where the mothers and their children played, the frequency of outdoor play, and types of play. Majority of the mothers in both countries stated that gender of the child is not important in play material and play preference, but a few mothers expressed children should prefer play materials appropriate to their traditional gender roles. One of the suggestions of the study is developing family education programs including information on the importance of play with children and how to support children's play.