This paper examines the free time of preschool children from the perspective of parents, with special emphasis on the role of free time in upbringing and education. The goals of the research are: to determine parents´; opinions and attitudes about the importance of free time and to identify parents preferences regarding the organization of free time. The research was conducted through a questionnaire containing 15 questions, which was filled out by parents of preschool children. The sample included 203 parents, average chronological age 34.99±5.99 years. In order to determine the differences in parents´; opinions and attitudes towards children´s free time, the categorical variable represented the level of their awareness of the importance of physical and sports activities in life. Canonical discriminant analysis was used to identify significant differences between the two groups of parents. The results showed that parents with a higher level of awareness of the importance of sports encourage their children to participate in sports activities outside kindergarten and consider participation in organized sports activities more important, compared to parents with a lower level of awareness. Variables that significantly differentiate parents are: encouraging children to participate in sports or physical activities outside kindergarten and the importance of the child´s participation in organized sports activities. The main conclusion of this research emphasizes the importance of educating parents about the benefits of active and structured free time for the comprehensive development of children.