Remember what your childhood years were like? Wow, the days were filled with too much fun and continuous playtime. However, our adult brains probably can’t remember the mental energy dedicated to childhood playtime. After all, the experiences were gradually teaching us how to interact with our surroundings.

Our tiny brains and bodies were working overtime, and that’s what our kids are going through now.

Play is the best way to learn. Kids learn about math, engineering, and science during playtime and get to improve their social skills through play. They’ll learn to advocate for themselves, solve problems, make decisions, share, work in teams, and resolve conflicts.

Their playing methods evolve throughout their growth and development. Researchers from different corners of the globe have done some excellent work observing playing kids and come up with various concepts, theories, and explanations regarding children’s playtime.

This detailed guide covers the six stages of play as outlined by Mildred Parten and how these stages develop and change over time.

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Parten’s Six Stages of Play

Researcher and sociologist Mildred Parten outlined six stages of children’s play development in the 1920s. Thanks to her research, educators now understand how kids have fun, and parents no longer need to worry that little Diana seems less interested in playing with her peers in the sandbox. Instead, the process unfolds in stages, and children learn them differently.

Mildred was born in Minneapolis in 1902. In 1929, aged 26, she completed her children’s play doctoral dissertation at the University of Minnesota. Her paper was also published in the Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology in 1932.

Based on the scholar’s observation of kids, Parten proposed the following six stages of play:

Unoccupied Play

This stage of play occurs between the child’s birthday and three months. You don’t need fancy toys or any toys at all. Instead, the baby will be alternating between eating, sleeping, and learning how their tiny bodies function.

During this stage:

• The child lacks social interaction or sustained focus
• Their play lacks clear storylines
• Their language use is very limited or non-existent.
• You’ll notice them pick, shake, then discard anything they encounter. They may also hit and giggle at stuff.

Their play may seem un-educational, but it plays a crucial developmental role. Within the first three months, unoccupied play will help your child orient themselves in their surroundings. In addition, they learn to master their motor skills and limbs and develop perception, object permanence, and tactile skills.

Solitary Play

At this stage, they have their toy cars, blocks, and anything that looks appetizing.
Here, a child will play alone while focused on the toys within their immediate vicinity. Their interest in other children or adults during playtime will be limited. But their playtime is more sustained and focused than unoccupied.

The main attributes here include:

• Increased attention and sustained focus on toys
• Developing new playing narratives, like using items to represent other items (such as pushing a block like a car)
• Disinterest in adults or other children
• Unstructured playtime with no clear objectives.

One such example is two children playing with toys, but each is focused on their own play. The stage is also evident if a child can sustain interest in one item for over one minute or an older kid takes a walk to explore the park surroundings.

Solitary play can still apply even after growing older and mastering advanced methods of playing. Even as adults, we play alone to explore new ideas, reflect, and rejuvenate on our own.

So your “lone scientist” isn’t against socializing; they’re just indifferent to friends!

Onlooker or Spectator Play

Once your child hits two years, they’ll start noticing other children’s playtime but aren’t quite interested in joining in. They’ll only observe their friends play but not get involved, often locating themselves within earshot to hear other kid’s playtime conversations. The child might show interest in other people’s play but hold back due to disinterest, fear, or hesitation.

Here are the key examples of spectator or onlooker play:

• Younger Montessori classroom children observing their older colleagues play but avoiding involvement in the “bigger kids’ activities.”
• A shy kid feeling too timid to join her friend’s play.
• An adult watching a game.

Observation and listening are powerful learning tools. For example, if you notice your two-year-old daughter staring down at another kid enjoying his train table, she isn’t judging them or being passive-aggressive – they’re only curious. So save that “don’t stare” lesson for next time.

Parallel Play

At this play development stage, two kids can sit and do their activities next to each other, but with no engagement between them. They’ll share toys and observe each other at a distance but won’t share goals or gameplay.

Toddlers are ok with having a friend beside them who is also driving a truck, but they’re not ready to discuss their favorite mechanics or where they’ll head with their next drive.

The main characteristics of parallel play include:

• Being in the same room and sharing playing resources, but not doing the same thing.
• Solo exploration and discovery
• Observation and mimicking
• Having different focuses and objectives during play
• Minimal communication during playtime

For instance, two sisters could be playing with the same “kitchenware” but cooking different foods. Another great example is during early play dates, where you bring your children together with your new neighbor’s to get them more comfortable. Here, younger kids won’t begin playing together right away.

This is totally normal and crucial. Kids are teaching themselves to share space and are beginning to develop social skills.

Associative Play

As they join preschool, toddlers engage in associative play. Their relationship is a bit like interacting with a colleague at work. “Yes, I’ll attend the 9.00 am meeting with my associate, so bring the new memo.”

Your little one’s interaction is a lot like that in real life at this stage of play. Their peers could be like workmates at the playground, content to play alongside each other and paying attention to their own playtime activities.

The notable attributes at this stage of play include:

• Negotiating shared tools
• Emerging language and chatter skills, where they’ll ask each other questions during gameplay
• They’ll still play independently with varying strategies and goals
• Observation and mimicking at a closer distance

For instance, you’ll notice them asking questions about what they’re doing, the gameplay, and how they’re working, yet nonetheless performing different tasks. You’ll also see them negotiating for any resources lacking in their play area.

The associative play differs from the previous stage because kids now work, acknowledge, share, and imitate each other. However, they’re still not playing together cohesively since they don’t share common goals.

Cooperative Play

This is the last stage of play and begins manifesting at around four years. Here, children will engage with one another, create their own playtime norms and rules, and pretend together.

The social constructivist theory underpins this stage of play. The central idea by key theorists Lev Vygotsky and Barbara Rogoff is that this social interaction helps kids advance their reasoning. Discussing in groups lets them view an idea from different perspectives.

The main characteristics of cooperative play include:

• Working together on a mutual gameplay
• Sharing common gameplay objectives
• Having personas and team roles
• Elements of sacrifice and compromise for the common good

A great example of cooperative play is imaginative play, where kids take up their favorite movie character roles. It’s also evident in board games where they play in turns and proceed according to standard agreed-upon rules. Finally, it’s practiced in organized sports, including those involving adults.

Cooperative play entails lots of fun, but children will experience challenges learning to take turns, share, and share their feelings (which is hard for adults as well!) But all these challenges present an opportunity to learn the ropes of gameplay and life!

How to Encourage Children During Play

The same way adults need resources and education to improve at their jobs, kids require the same support to aid their playtime. Along with providing suitable materials like games and toys, they need lots of time, engagement, and encouragement.

Here are more tips to guide you as you support your child through each of the six stages of play:

• Set the scene – Provide exploration opportunities to your child, whether it’s providing new, fun material, simply walking them around the building, or taking them to a museum. Help them discover new people, materials, and places to play.
• Limit your expectations – Don’t worry about how you believe the kid should be playing. Hold on to your expectations and let them decide. When they’re in control, they’ll learn to pay attention to their own promptings and cues, making learning fun, engaging, and developmentally appropriate.
• Guide and support – Just like offering a steady hand as your child learns to walk, your presence and engagement in their play grant them the needed assistance. They may need emotional support in new environments, guidance with new skills, or inspiration and ideas from their favorite person. So always be there to propel them to new heights.

Play is a Crucial Part of Learning and Development

Kids learn through fun activities, and playtime lays a robust foundation for their literacy. Playing encourages communication between children and the adults in their lives and gives them the chance to make choices and be spontaneous. Finally, kids get space and have fun when playing. All these form a central part of their learning and development.

Children master the six stages of play in a linear fashion. Still, they can always return to a step even after mastering the next. So even though they’ve learned the final stages of play, you may still notice them practicing onlooker play.

Despite this comprehensive play taxonomy’s usefulness, remember that kids portray varying play preferences. So use it to understand the different types of play instead of to verify whether your kid is “normal.”

If you want them to get the most from your child’s developing stages of play, make sure their early education must focus on helping them realize their potential. In fact, finding the proper care for your child offers the ultimate relief, and Wonderschool is here to help you achieve just that. The platform lets you find the ideal in-home child care, micro-school, forest school, or preschool for your family with ease.

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