Birth process in spontaneous play of some girls

"We have to call the ambulance! One of the girls is giving birth to a baby!"

Abstract

The purpose and goal of the case study is to shed light on how children can interpret and recreate their experiences and knowledge in spontaneous play. The research question: How do five girls, at the age of five, recreate their experiences and knowledge in spontaneous play, and how is their representation in the play?

The paper presents the findings of a study that delves into the intricate nature of children’s spontaneous play in a preschool setting, with a specific focus on how children articulate and express their knowledge through play. The investigation focuses on a group of five-year-old girls engaged in spontaneous play on the point of a significant event—the impending birth of a child. The paper attempts to comprehend and interpret the content and activities of the girls’ play world. The research was conducted in a preschool located in the capital area.

According to the Icelandic national curriculum for preschools (Miðstöð menntunar og skólaþjónustu, n.d.), spontaneous play should be the main learning method in preschool activities, and equality should be one of the basic aspects of preschool work. Despite that, research appears to be lacking on how the genders communicate their social knowledge of gender roles in play; that is, how their interpretive re-creation and social representation is expressed in spontaneous play.

The study assumed that children are capable and that they are shaped by and influenced by their environment (Corsaro, 2018; Dahlberg et al. 2007). Children are expected to acquire extensive knowledge from the environment which they then interpret and reproduce, for example in play, this is what Corsaro (2018) calls interpretive reproduction; this term is used here.

The study is grounded in socio-cultural theory, with a particular emphasis on gender dynamics, interpretive reproduction, and the social representations manifested by the participating girls during play. Additionally, the term “collaborative emergence” is introduced as a theoretical construct to enhance the analysis and discussion of the research outcome.

The theoretical perspective taken into account in the study is a feminist perspective. Here, we look at the ideas of Butler (2004) on the concept of gender identity, which states that the socially dominant gender norm places the genders in a role that has a formative effect on the identity of individuals. Gender identity refers to the prevailing ideas in society about what it means to be a girl or a boy; for example, how they should behave and how they should look. (Betz, 2004; Hackett, 1995). Children often play gender, either according to their own gender identity or against it (Butler, 2004). However, research shows that children tend to identify more with the same gender, for example, girls play with other girls about the world of women’s experiences, and in such play, they can develop their gender identity. One of the things that girls mirror in play is big events such as weddings, and the birth of a child (Guðrún Alda Harðardóttir og Gyða Margrét Pétursdóttir, 2014).

In the play, the girls created a performance relating to physical aspects limited to women and genitals, cf. Butler (2004). A study by Þórdís Þórðardóttir et al. (2024) also shows that the children who took part in that study found it easy to associate lesbians with having children, but not gays. However, the girls chose not to have a parent present at the birth, neither male nor female.

The play shows that the girls have extensive knowledge of childbirth; an unborn child is inside a woman, and the child moves there, and then the woman feels the baby’s movements. When it comes to the birth of a child, the woman needs medical assistance and relatives who support her. It can be a home birth or taking an ambulance to the hospital. Pain (contractions) increases as the birth draws closer. A baby is born through a woman’s vagina. The birth of a child is difficult for the woman, so much so that she even becomes exhausted and needs care from the environment. An unborn baby can control when it is born.

The author believes the study is well suited to enhancing the discussion on the value and complexity of spontaneous play; for example, from a gender perspective. The study also shows how preschool teachers can examine children’s play to continue working with them. Examining children’s spontaneous play in this way can shed light on more aspects of preschool activities. How do the girls communicate during daily work and play with other children? For example, are Bogga and Álfheiður generally in the role of the person in care, or does it depend on who they play with? How do Vilborg and Þuríður generally manage to participate in play with other children? The study also provides an interesting insight into children’s knowledge that is often hidden from adults but often appears in children’s play and their interactions within the preschool.