Play is a necessary component of development across many different species, humans particularly. Children’s cognitive, social, emotional, and physical development are all positively influenced when engaging in play with their parent. However, there is a lack of direct empirical research pertaining to how play between parent-child dyads develops and its effects on the dyad and child’s development, as well as the effects that age and gender differences across childhood have on the dyad. Most of the articles covering play between parent-child dyads are theoretical in nature. After presenting a theoretical framework of how play between parent-child dyads influences the child’s development and the attachment of the dyad, I present the available empirical research on parent-child dyad play and the effects that it has on the dyad as well as the child’s development. The present study examines 45 neurotypical parent-child dyads, with children aged 3-7-years-old. Significant positive correlations were found between the frequency of parent-child play and positive parent attitudes towards play, frequency of parent-child play and conflict between the dyad, parent attitudes towards play and frequency of digital-media usage by the child, effortful control and parent attitudes towards play, as well as closeness and effortful control. Unsurprisingly, negatively significant correlations were found between conflicts and closeness in the dyad as well as between conflict and negative affect in the child. Astonishingly, the only significant difference found between the age and gender of the child in the dyad was that 3-5-year-olds showed a significantly higher level of conflict than the dyads with 6-7-year-olds. Overall, the results imply that the more time that parent-child dyads spend correctly playing together, the more positive the influences there are on the parent-child dyad and the child’s development. Furthermore, the results from this study exhibit that is necessary for more direct empirical and longitudinal research to be done on the effects of play on parent-child dyads, as well as gender and age difference influences on their play, with a broader population and much larger sample-size.