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- The Different Stages of Play. Children will participate in many different types of play as they grow. This includes the six stages of play outlined by sociologist Mildred Parten in 1932: unoccupied play, solitary play, onlooker play, parallel play, associative play, and cooperative play.
- Unoccupied Play. Newborns from 1 to 3 months old will participate in unoccupied play. Think of it as their first attempt to learn about the world. They’ll observe their surroundings and make random body movements out of curiosity.
- Independent Play / Solitary Play. From birth to around 2 years old, children don’t pay much attention to playmates in social settings. They’d rather keep themselves entertained through independent play.
- Symbolic Play. Around 18 months, toddlers may experiment with symbolic play, using one object to represent another. For instance, they may use a marker as a cell phone or pretend a ball is an apple.
- Overview
- 1. Unoccupied play
- 2. Independent or solitary play
- 3. Onlooker play
- 4. Parallel play
- 5. Associative play
- 6. Cooperative play
- Next steps
Pablo Neruda once wrote, “A child who does not play is not a child.”
More and more, parents are conscious of the downsides of a generation that’s allowed too little time to play. And pediatricians are now actively recommending play as an essential component of healthy brain development.
But kickball isn’t the only activity that counts as play. Here’s a breakdown of Parten’s 6 types of play, a classic tool developed by American sociologist Mildred Parten Newhall. It’s applicable for children ages 2 to 5.
For parents, having a general idea of how kids’ play evolves can help alleviate stress, as well as guide you toward age-appropriate toys and activities.
Parten defined this as a child not engaged in play. But you could think of this as the “infancy” of play. Here, your baby or toddler creatively moves their body with no purpose other than it feels good and interesting.
It’s the most basic type of play: Your child is completely free to think, move, and imagine. The entire world is new, so when you’re thinking about playtime, don’t worry about organizing anything. I used to put my baby on a fluffy monkey pillow in his room and let him kick around, handing him a book or a rattle, and letting him do his thing.
This is when your child plays alone, with little to no reference to what other kids or adults are doing.
This stage always amuses me, because if you gave birth to a little extrovert, like me, you may feel like this stage never quite arrived. This stage was always described to me as “playing quietly in the corner,” and that was never to my little boy’s liking. But it can actually be as active or as quiet as your child’s temperament dictates. Around his 1st birthday, my son did begin to play independently, once he was able to run around outside. Nature: your first and best playmate.
That said, it’s an incredibly important stage. As many adults know, you can’t bond properly to new people if you aren’t comfortable by yourself. Starting to encourage this behavior young will definitely make your life easier, and the ability to be content with their own discovery will serve them well throughout life.
If they get this type of play through finding sticks on a walk, or reading a book quietly, that’s totally up to them.
This is when your child observes the play of other children, while not actually playing themselves.
So much of this play stage is inactive, but it’s still significant. The ability to play with other kids is crucial to getting along in school and beyond. This is your baby’s first stop in learning how.
Of course, it’s not limited to other kids. When adults play, baby also notices. The other weekend, my husband took out his long-neglected guitar and began messing around with a few songs. My little boy was mesmerized, running to dada, and pressing on the chords in imitation.
Even if you stay at home like me, there are plentiful opportunities for demonstrating to baby how you, too, like to play.
Though they may use the same toys, your child plays beside, rather than with, other children.
Remember, learning to play is learning how to relate to others. In that sense, parallel play is that final stage before your child connects with another.
Toys that can be shared easily are ideal, as this period is often fraught with toddler breakdowns over “MINE, not THEIRS.” Bear in mind that ideal toys are both shatterproof and easily cleaned.
But take heart in the fact that this means your child is one step closer to understanding how to connect with people outside of their family.
Here, your child plays with other children, but the kids do not organize their play toward a common goal.
Around age 3, your preschooler will experience a longer attention span, and will really enjoy the social aspect of other children as never before. While purposeful play is still a rarity, taking turns is a totally achievable goal (at least according to researchers, though many parents say otherwise).
Here you can see the beginning of teamwork. Your kid plays with others for a common purpose.
In terms of play goals, this is the final developmental stage, because it’s the same basic principle whether you’re doing a school project, putting on a play, or playing a sport. A child you can engage in cooperative play can handle a classroom. Interacting, socializing, and communicating sets the stage for social success throughout life.
Playtime for children accomplishes some serious goals: cognitively, socially, and physically. Ensuring that there’s unstructured time to explore is vital to your child’s development, as well as to building a unique parent-child relationship. After all, you were a kid once, too. What a brilliant opportunity to remember what that felt like!
May 14, 2024 · What is play and why are the different types of play and stages so important for a child’s overall development? Play is the medium through which children explore and experience their world. A child’s overall physical, emotional, cognitive and social development depends on play.
Types of Play Understanding some of the different ways that very young children play can help you support them where they’re at and gently introduce more complex interactions and exploration. Here are some common types of play you’ll see infants and toddlers engaging in (Kid Sense, n.d.; White, n.d.; Yogman et al. 2018). Interpersonal play.
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Dec 8, 2022 · Unoccupied play (birth to 3 months) Solitary play (birth to 2 years) Onlooker play (2 years) Parallel play (2 years and up) Associative play (3 to 4 years) Cooperative play (4 years and up) How to support your child through the stages of play. When to ask the doctor. show all.
There are many types of play: symbolic, sociodramatic, functional, and games with rules-–to name just a few. Researchers study play’s many aspects: how children learn through play, how outdoor play impacts children’s health, the effects of screen time on play, to the need for recess in the school day. 5. Make time for play.
Jul 7, 2023 · Westend61 / Westend61 via Getty Images. Did you know that there are different types of play? As a parent, it's easy to worry that your child isn't developing properly or isn't progressing at a normal pace. What many parents don't realize is that our definition of play is just one of many stages.
