Kinder, die im Vorschulalter „wie Jungen spielen“ spielen, zeigen ein Jahrzehnt später bessere räumliche Fähigkeiten: Kinder mit männlichen Spielstilen im Alter von 3,5 Jahren tendieren in einer mentalen Rotationsaufgabe, wenn sie 13 Jahre alt sind, unabhängig von ihrem Geschlecht.
Children who “play like boys” in preschool show better spatial abilities a decade later
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I’ve linked to the news release in the post above. In this comment, for those interested, here’s the link to the peer reviewed journal article:
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10508-025-03188-1
From the linked article:
**Children who “play like boys” in preschool show better spatial abilities a decade later**
An analysis of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and **Children data found that children with masculine-typical play styles at 3.5 years of age tend to perform better in a mental rotation task when they are 13 years old, regardless of their sex**. The mental rotation task is an indicator of spatial visualization abilities. The paper was published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior.
Results showed that masculine children scored significantly higher on the mental rotation task than did feminine children. This association was not moderated by the child’s sex and held even after the researchers controlled for sociodemographic background, academic performance, and other preschool characteristics such as vocabulary and fine motor skills.
This is VERY interesting! I recall in uni we learned that spatial perception and mental manipulation of shapes was higher in boys just as a matter of predisposition. Now I wonder how much is simply due to types of play while at certain development ages instead?
I was given detention in elementary school for “playing like the boys” at recess. It would be nice to have the option.
Ok read both provided links. I have a 4 year old boy and a 1 year old girl what specific play activities got these results?
Is my daughter going to get the “ boy playtime“ from just playing with her brother and his toys?
What constitutes as masculine/feminine play? I didn’t see it in the article. There must have been a list of characteristics that define each.
Meanwhile all my mom’s friends had daughters so I grew up playing with dolls and colors my nails.
Can I blame this for my lack of success in life?
I remember when my son was young and struggling with some concepts, his physical therapist said that physical limitations of movement have intellectual impacts. In other words, we understand things physically before we can conceptualize them.
This was over 30 years ago.