Stages of play is a theory and classification of children's participation in play developed by Mildred Parten Newhall in her 1929 dissertation.[1] Parten observed American preschool age (ages 2 to 5) children at free play (defined as anything unrelated to survival, production or profit). Show Parten recognized six different types of play:
According to Parten, as children became older, improving their communication skills, and as opportunities for peer interaction become more common, the nonsocial (solitary and parallel) types of play become less common, and the social (associative and cooperative) types of play become more common.[1][5] Modern scholars agree that Parten's theory has contributed substantially to our understanding of play, and while alternative classification schemes have been proposed, Parten's stages of play are still widely used.[1] However, there is disagreement on whether there is indeed a sequence of play stages that children go through – for example, whether toddlers are really unable to play cooperatively, and whether solitary play in older children is less common or a sign of immaturity.[1] Alternative explanations suggest that types of play may be influenced by other circumstances (such as how well the children know one another).[1] See also[edit]
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What comes before parallel play?Solitary play (Birth-2 years): Content to play alone. They are not interested in playing with others quite yet. Onlooker play (2 years): Watches other children playing but does not play with them yet. Parallel play (2+ years): Plays alongside or near others, but does not play with them.
What is the difference between parallel and cooperative play?Cooperative Play
Children are working together to play a game. Examples of activities within the developmental stages of play are: solitary play: a child playing with blocks alone in a corner. parallel play: two or more children playing with blocks near each other but not talking with each other.
What age does cooperative play start?Cooperative play is when children start working together towards a common goal. For instance, building a block tower. This helps your child to develop social skills. This usually happens between 4 and 6 years old.
What are the stages of play development?There are 6 stages of play during early childhood - all of which are important for all areas of development.. Unoccupied play – 0-3 months.. Solitary play – 0-2 years.. Onlooker play – 2 years.. Parallel play – 2-3 years.. Associate play – 2-3 years.. Cooperative/social play – 4-6 years.. |