What Is Play: The Characteristics of Play
Children enjoy play
As children play, there is flexibility in their purpose and in how it unfolds
Children seek out opportunities to play and in it they determine what happens
There is a non-literal, non-realistic aspect to play
The Importance of Play
Play is an important vehicle for developing self-regulation as well as for promoting language,
cognition, and social competence.
Children of all ages love to play, and it gives them opportunities to develop physical
competence and enjoyment of the outdoors, understand and make sense of their world,
interact with others, express and control emotions, develop their symbolic and problem-solving
abilities, and practice emerging skills. Research shows the links between play and foundational
capacities such as memory, self-regulation, oral language abilities, social skills, and success in
school.
Children engage in various kinds of play, such as physical play, object play, pretend
or dramatic play, constructive play, and games with rules. Observed in all young
animals, play apparently serves important physical, mental, emotional, and social functions for
humans and other species, and each kind of play has its own benefits and characteristics. From
infancy, children act on the world around them for the pleasure of seeing what happens; for
example, repeatedly dropping a spoon on the floor or pulling the cat’s tail. At around age 2,
children begin to demonstrate symbolic use of objects—for instance, picking up a shell and pretending
to drink as from a cup—at least when they have had opportunities to observe others
engaging in such make-believe behavior.
From such beginnings, children begin to engage in more mature forms of dramatic play, in
which by the age of 3–5 they may act out specific roles, interact with one another in their roles,
and plan how the play will go. Such play is influential in developing self-regulation, as children
are highly motivated to stick to the roles and rules of the play, and thus grow in the ability to
inhibit their impulses, act in coordination with others, and make plans. High-level dramatic play
produces documented cognitive, social, and emotional benefits. However, with children
spending more time in adult-directed activities and media use, forms of child play characterized
by imagination and rich social interactions seem to be declining. Active scaffolding of
imaginative play is needed in early childhood settings if children are to develop the sustained,
mature dramatic play that contributes significantly to their self-regulation and other cognitive,
linguistic, social, and emotional benefits. Adults can use proven methods to promote children’s
extended engagement in make-believe play as well as in games with rules and other kinds of
high-level play. Rather than detracting from academic learning, play appears to support the
abilities that underlie such learning and thus to promote school success.
Consider the critically important role of play in young children’s development. Sometimes early
childhood advocates make the sweeping assertion that ‘children learn through play.’ There is
truth in the statement, but it needs qualification. There are many different kinds of play—
constructive play, pretend play, games, rough-and-tumble play—offering different potential
benefits for children. For instance, mature dramatic play (e.g., developing a play scenario and
staying within its constraints) contributes significantly to children’s self-regulation, while simply
manipulating play objects in the dramatic play area (e.g., putting a dish in the play oven, taking
it out) does not promote self-regulation skills.
… evidence suggests that higher-level play does not automatically unfold on its own. Teachers
have essential roles in ensuring that play meets its potential for children. Thus, to effectively
use play to promote children’s development and learning, we must sharpen the lens through
which we view play. And as we advocate for play and other practices we think serve children
best, it is particularly vital that we be clear in our own thinking and precise in our
communication with parents, administrators, and policy makers.
The Benefits of Play
The interplay of domains as children play
The integration of math, literacy, and science
The development of gross and fine motor skills in physical play
The expression of emotions in play
The development of social skills in play
The development of self-regulation or executive function in sociodramatic play leading to
higher achievement
Play and Learning
Young children learn through the following:
Active, hands-on involvement. In and out of the classroom, young children learn best when
they are actively involved. As they play, explore, experiment, and interact with people and
objects, children are always trying to make sense of those experiences. Though abstract ideas
are not totally beyond them, children under age 7 are most comfortable in the concrete world
they see, smell, hear, taste, and touch.
Although hands-on learning opportunities suit preschoolers to a tee, equally important is for
activities to be “mind-on,” that is, to engage children’s thinking processes and encourage them
to investigate, question, and ponder problems.
Meaningful experiences. We all learn best when information and concepts are meaningful to
us, that is, connected to what we already know and understand. Although true for people of all
ages, this fact about learning is even truer for young children. Children learn best when they
can relate new knowledge to what they have already encountered, to what is already important
to them. Then they can weave new threads into the fabric of their previous knowledge and
experiences. For example, books about babies or new siblings are likely to be of interest to
preschoolers, many of whom have younger sisters, brothers, or cousins. And children can
visualize and learn about wolves by thinking about the dogs they’ve been around.
Constructing their understanding of the world. Young children are mentally active
learners who are always “constructing” their knowledge or understanding of the world. That is,
they are continually working to figure things out on their own terms. Although this is true of
adult learners as well, young children have so much to try to make sense of in the world around
them…
As children play, they are actively constructing meaning. For this reason, observing play can be
a window into their understandings and concerns.
High-Quality Play at Different Ages
Infants and Play
Babies learn through movement…They soon discover that they can change what they see, hear
or feel through their own actions—how delightful to kick, see the mobile move, and be able to
do it again! ...Babies use their senses and emerging physical skills to learn about the people
and objects around them. They touch different textures and put things in their mouths.
Mobile infants thrive on exploration and interaction. Mobility opens new worlds for infants. They
can now move to what or whom they want… Freedom to move about safely in an interesting,
inviting environment is vital for these busy infants… As they play, these young explorers can be
totally absorbed. Opening and shutting, filling and dumping, and picking up and dropping are
endlessly fascinating activities that challenge infants’ mobility and dexterity as well as their
ideas about objects and what they can do… As they play and use their new physical skills,
mobile infants learn the rudimentary rules of cause and effect… These infants use and
manipulate tools… They also begin to group and compare objects and may enjoy a simple
stacking or nesting toy. They demonstrate a basic understanding of more and less. They work
intently at simple problems, like fitting a lid on a pan or picking up a slippery ice cube or a
strand of spaghetti…
Mobile infants love to play and interact with caring adults in their lives and can use their new
language and motor skills to participate in baby games that are traditional in their culture(s).
These games may include versions of peekaboo, hand-clapping rhymes, bouncing games, and
games that involve pointing or gesturing. As they learn these routines, babies will come to
anticipate the fun parts and will laugh and gesture at the appropriate times.
Toddlers and Play
As toddlers’ verbal skills expand, so does their ability to use objects, to put together a series of
actions in play, and to remember events for later reenactment. Adults are especially valued play
partners because they can keep the story going as they respond to the child’s lead by adding
missing words or by suggesting new steps or new elements. An adult can support a toddler’s
need to repeat the same story over and over again, encourage her to do more of the
storytelling each time, and help her to extend or elaborate on her story. Peers are also highly
valued play partners as they heighten the emotional tone of play, take different roles, or share
ideas for solving problems.
[From Copple, C. and S. Bredekamp, eds. 2009. Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood
Programs Serving Children from Birth through Age 8, 3d ed. Washington, DC: NAEYC. 67.]
Preschoolers and Play
Although many continue to play alone or in parallel to classmates, preschoolers become
increasingly able to enter and remain involved in mature sociodramatic play—that is, able to
agree about the topic of play …to take on more complex roles, and to sustain the play with
other children for longer periods of time. Extensive involvement in sociodramatic play not only
builds preschoolers’ social skills but is also associated with better language and literacy skills,
self-regulation, and later school achievement.
Preschoolers cannot become socially competent without many extended times to interact with
one another. This requires teachers to plan the preschool day so that there are blocks of time
available for children to play and work together… Such periods can include time for pretend
(sociodramatic) play, as well as time for projects or other small group activities… In this as in
other areas of the program, teacher involvement in and scaffolding of children’s social
interactions are essential. For example, teachers may help children plan what they will play,
what roles they and their friends might take, and how to sustain and extend the play. Teachers
may need to help younger, more inhibited, or less skilled preschoolers enter other children’s
play… In these interactions, teachers can also help children understand and interpret other
children’s intentions.
Make-believe or pretend play, with guidance and support from adults, blossoms in the preschool
years and allows children to make a number of cognitive gains as they try out new ideas and
skills. Advances in children’s play skills not only serve as indicators of preschoolers’ advancing
cognitive skills but also are crucial in fostering further cognitive development.
Other types of play, such as drawing or doing puzzles, are important too. But there is
something special about social pretend play for preschoolers. When they engage in mature
sociodramatic play (pretend play that involves communication with other children), children’s
interactions last longer than they do in other situations, children show high levels of
involvement, large numbers of children are drawn in, and children show more cooperation—all
of which have important benefits for children’s cognitive (and other types of) development.
Constructive play with elements of dramatic play is a common combination in children’s play.
For example: Several children might play for a long time on a Friday and ask to have their work
left up over the weekend so they could resume on Monday. Then they would continue their play
for an entire hour as well. At times they might pretend to be builders and interested in the
ramp and roadway.
