Playpark activities take place in a variety of locations and are considered significant for enriching children's play and promoting healthy development. However, there has been no research on parents' expectations of their children's experiences to have through play park activities. This study aimed to clarify parents' expectations of their children's experiences at playparks by targeting parents who participated in a playpark held for the first time in a certain region. A questionnaire survey of parents was conducted on 26 February 2023, at a playpark event held in Osaka. We obtained responses to the questionnaire from 56 out of 68 participating parents and children. The questionnaire consisted of seven items related to expectations of children’s experiences at the event (play experience, exercise effect, movement experience, emotional experience, family time, play with other children, nature experience), three items related to children's usual play (likes and dislikes for exercise play, frequency of exercise play, time spent with family members per week), and three items related to satisfaction rating for the event (children's facial expressions during the activity, overall satisfaction, desire to continue holding the event). We scored the response to each item, and the Spearman's rank correlation coefficient between expectations of children’s experiences and children's usual play or satisfaction rating for the event was calculated. As a result, it was revealed that the expectation of being able to experience various play was the highest, followed by expectations for nature experience, movement experience, and emotional experience. Parents who had expectations for the event, such as having family fun time and experiencing a variety of movement, tended to perceive that their children liked or did well in physical play. Parents with expectations of the benefits of exercise, such as the reduction of physical inactivity and stress, tended to feel that their children's expressions were more lively during the event, and those with expectations of the experience of play tended to be more satisfied with the event overall. Furthermore, it was found that parents with expectations of family time wanted future events to be held more frequently. Parental expectations of their children's experiences at playpark events were found to be related to their children's usual play situation and their evaluation of the event. It is considered important to grasp the content of parents’ expectations for all activities that support children's growth in the region and to strive to improve and develop the activities.
