Types of Play

1
Types of Play

• Childrens play is categorized by
• ages of children at play
• stages of development
• variety or type of play
• Categorizing play is complex because one must
  consider
• The use of objects in play are present or
  absent.
• For example, a child who drinks from a toy cup
  and a child who pretends to drink from an
  imaginary cup are both playing.
• Social aspects of play, for example, whether a
  child
• is playing alone or with others.
• Two common methods of describing play used
  extensively by researchers and practitioners
  are
• cognitive development adapted from Smilansky
  (1968)
• social development described by Parten
  (1932).

2
Stages of cognitive development and
play(Smilansky, 1968)

• Sensorimotor
• Repeated movements with or without objects such
  as banging blocks or shaking rattles
• Functional
• Manipulating objects in a functional manner or
  combining objects in play such as brushing hair
  with a comb or placing objects into containers
• Constructive
• Using toys to construct such as building a block
  tower
• Abstract
• Dramatic, symbolic-pretend (pretense) play such
  as using blocks to represent cookies while
  playing house or pretending to feed a doll with a
  bottle
• Games with clearly-defined rules
• Board games, tug of war, Duck Duck Goose etc.

3
Although these stages of play are used to
describe childrens observed play as they age, it
is incorrect to assume that, as children age,
their play can be characterized by one category
of play. A preschooler may use blocks to
construct a garage (constructive play) or to
represent cookies (symbolic play). These
descriptions are useful for describing general
features of childrens play, but should not be
viewed as a strict developmental hierarchy to
guide toy selection.
4
Stages of social development and play
The change from immature, egocentric to more
mature socialization follows a progression of
steps. Parten (1932) describes stages of
participation in play

Unoccupied 1-3 years of age The child is not
engaged in any type of meaningful activity. He
might wander the room, follow an adult, or move
about with little interest.
Parallel Play 23 years The child will choose
similar toys or activities and play near a
group, but not interact with them. Often they
talk at each other about different topics
rather than with each other. One might be
talking about her trip to Aunt Sallys while
the other is discussing his new puppy.
5
Onlooker 2 ½-3 ½ years During this stage,
children tend to watch each other play. They
occasionally participate verbally but are more
interested in watching others play rather than
join in the activity. 
Solitary independent play 4-5 years The
child spends time playing alone with toys not
being used, making little or no effort to
interact with the other children. Although
typically seen at this age as well as at all
stages of life, if only solitary play is used,
some intervention may be appropriate.
6

• Associative play 4-6 years The children play
  together, interacting with
• each other in a common activity but
  independently without coordinating with
• the entire group.
• Cooperative 4-6 years Children
• play and work together in an organized
• group sharing toys, ideas and labor.

Parten, M.B. (1932) Social participation among
preschool children. Journal of Abnormal and
Social Psychology, 27, 243-249