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- During free play a kid can take part in many other forms of play. We'll look at some of the most common subcategories, including: dramatic play, physical play, pretend play, constructive play, nature play, and creative play. Next, we'll turn to guided play and it's subcategory, sensory play. Lastly, we'll go over competitive play and games.
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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.
- Independent Play
- Group Play
- Structured Play
- Free Play
- Physical Play
- Sensory Play
- Constructive Play
- Creative Play
- Fantasy Play
- Competitive Play
One way we can distinguish types of play is by who is involved. Independent play, or solo play, is any type of play kids engage in on their own. This may involve using a slide at the park, putting together a puzzle at daycare or playing pretend on their own in the backyard. Even if a parent is nearby supervising the child or a peer is playing along...
Children can also enjoy playing with one or more other children or adults. This type of play is called social or group play. Group play could look like two children playing with dolls, a large group of children playing a game of red light, green light or a few kids chatting as they swing side by side on the swing set. Group play gives children the ...
Another distinction we can make between two major categories of play has to do with the presence or lack of structure in the playtime activities. Structured play, also called guided play, includes organized activities with a specific purpose and set of parameters. Often, these activities are directed or at least supervised by adults. Some examples ...
Opposite structured play is free play. It can be all too easy to let free play get crowded out by a host of structured activities, but free play is vital to children’s development. Free play, or unstructured play, allows kids to self-direct their playtime. Adults may still supervise and impose some basic safety rules, but the way kids choose to hav...
Another way to label types of play is by the way kids engage their minds or bodies as they play. Some play is fun because of the physicality it involves. Physical play, motor play or active play — whatever you call it, this type of play is fun and beneficial to kids’ physical healthand development. Most activities on a playground are active. Within...
All play involves a child’s senses in some manner, but some types of play are especially sensory-rich. This type of play is known as sensory play. Some of the best places to enjoy sensory play are in nature and on a sensory playground. Sensory playground equipmentis designed to stimulate the senses to make playtime more engaging and educational, en...
Some play is constructive in nature. This includes any activities where children are engineering or building something. One of the most common forms of constructive play is using building blocks. Other examples include using natural materials like sticks, sand or dirt to build something or putting together model sets. Constructive play can help chi...
As we’ve seen, lots of play types can exercise kids’ creativity. But some play is specifically focused on creative pursuits. This can include various forms of artistic expression, such as music, dance, storytelling, visual arts or drama. Any type of play that encourages kids to tap into their creative side can be deemed creative play. A popular exa...
A popular category of play, especially for younger children, is fantasy play. Also called dramatic or pretend play, this is any type of activity where children use their imaginations. Usually around the age of 2, children start pretending while they play. Pretending helps children further their cognitive development, enhance their creativity and de...
Group play is often cooperative in nature, but sometimes, children enjoy some friendly competition instead. Competitive play is more common for older children, though children can start incorporating competitive elements into play from an early age. Two children may go down slidesside by side, for example, to see who makes it to the ground first. A...
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Oct 5, 2023 · First, we'll go over a few main types of play: free play, guided play, and competitive play. During free play a kid can take part in many other forms of play. We'll look at some of the most common subcategories, including: dramatic play, physical play, pretend play, constructive play, nature play, and creative play.
- Unoccupied Play (Birth-3 Months) At this stage baby is just making a lot of movements with their arms, legs, hands, feet, etc. They are learning about and discovering how their body moves.
- Solitary Play (Birth-2 Years) This is the stage when a child plays alone. They are not interested in playing with others quite yet.
- Spectator/Onlooker Behavior (2 Years) During this stage a child begins to watch other children playing but does not play with them.
- Parallel Play (2+ Years) When a child plays alongside or near others but does not play with them this stage is referred to as parallel play.
- Unoccupied play. 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.
- Independent or solitary play. This is when your child plays alone, with little to no reference to what other kids or adults are doing.
- Onlooker play. 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.
- Parallel 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.
Apr 5, 2018 · Play using words, gestures, e.g., charades, telling jokes, play acting, etc. Dramatic Play. Play where children figure out roles to play, assign them and then act them out. Locomotor Play. Movement for movement’s sake, just because it’s fun. Things like chase, tag, hide and seek and tree climbing fall into this category. Deep Play.
Home. What Is Play. How We Play. Many Types of Play. This page describes the most common types of play in terms of their manifestation and importance to young children, but each type of play is practiced at all ages. We focus here on children because a broad exposure to play is critical for their optimal development.
