Information and data
(See Appendix 1)
The following information was gathered concerning the child:
1. Gender, age, no. of siblings, particularly close relationship to one or several siblings
2. Home address, type of homeand social status
3. The child’s toys, mention up to 15 of these which the child plays with, including manufacturers’ names and the approximate age of the toy.
4. Other toys, worthless itemsand computers, including how often child uses the computer and what he uses it for.
5. The child’s favourite toy(my best toy), how old was the child when he received it?, did the child receive it in connection with a special occasion, how old is the toy?, does the child use the toy with other toys, and if so, with what?
6. Does the favourite toyhave a nickname?, the reason why, how is it produced?, what is it made of?, are there any stories, songs or poems associated with the toy? (The respondents were welcome to send photos or drawings of the toy concerned.)
7.The extent of the child’s toy collection, on what occasions does the child receive toys?
8. Where are the toys kept?, who tidies up?, for how long does the child play at any one time?, no. of play participants?, how is a game ended or brought to a conclusion?
9. How does the child play with other toys?, how often and for how long does the child play at any one time?, no. of participants, how is a game ended or brought to a conclusion?
10. What toys does the child want?, what kinds of toys?, why doesn’t the child already have them? - Also what kind of toys does the child dislike?, reasons for not liking them, etc.
11. Play mates and games, including fighting and rough-and-tumble, war toysand their acquisition. Also play with Mum and Dad, how do they play? (play types) and what games do they play?, animals and pets.
The following two groups of questions concern each of the child’s parents:
12. Parents’ gender, age and no. of siblings. Educational background, profession/job, including a description of his/her own role/function in the working process. No. of working hours outside the home, holidays and days off. Tasks in the home including hobbies and special interests, a short description of these activities including amount of timespent on hobbies and interests.
13. Parents’ attitude to the toys they had in their childhood, memories of their favourite toysin a given period, the nature of the toy and play with the toy and with playmates.
Parents’ attitude to toys and play generally was also covered, along with their attitude to the future (based on their pattern of playing life and lifestyle).