Family socio-economic status (SES) is a significant predictor of children's early learning performance, while little is known about the relationship between family SES and children's play. This study aimed to examine how family SES was related to different aspects of children's play behaviors and whether the home environment served as a mediator in this relationship. A total of 844 mothers of children aged three to six (Nboys = 431) from different SES backgrounds (Nlow-SES = 123, Nmedium-SES = 322, Nhigh-SES = 399) reported the situation of the home environment and their children's play behaviors with self-developed questionnaires. Results of regression analyses showed that family SES significantly predicted the level of Imagination, Approaches to Learning, and Emotion Expression in children's play and that the home environment partially mediated such relationships. The results indicate SES-related differences in children's play behaviors and offer the possibility of narrowing such discrepancies by establishing a child-friendly home environment.
Keywords: Chinese; children’s play behaviors; family socio-economic status; home environment.