Levels Of Play In Child Development

Play is a major part of a child’s development. Whether this play is solitary or with other children, there are areas that are being developed. When children play it is not simply a waste of time, but a time where the child’s cognitive, social, and dramatic stages of play are expanding. Although one may not be able to see the growth that is happening within a child when they play, there are levels that the child is growing into and becoming more advanced. While there may be activities that seem unimportant and little, these different types of play activities can lead to a child’s developmental areas being affected. A child’s cognitive level of play is affected when the child plays with others or even with themselves. There are four specific …show more content…
When a child is building blocks with another child, it may seem like nothing more than playing, but there are actually levels of social play developmental that are apparent. The first level is unoccupied behavior. This is the most basic level of social play where a child simply is moving around without a goal in mind or engaged in anything specific. A child that continues to sit on a chair and then stand up is experiencing this first level. After a child moves past this level, onlooker behavior will begin. This level has the child observing how games are played. The child may ask questions and talk to the other children. This level leads children to learning by teaching children to ask questions and understand topics before becoming fully involved. For example, this level can teach a child to better ask questions during lessons when they are confused. The child will be able to ask questions, learn the material, and then become involved. After the child observes an activity occurring, they may turn to the next level: solitary play. This type is where the child is playing with their toys independently while using their imagination. Extending from solitary play to parallel play is the next step. Parallel play is where the child may play alongside other children, but not directly with them. This type of play may lead the child into becoming more comfortable with other children and working …show more content…
During this level, children are able to expand their ability to imitate objects and have pretend play. The first level of this dramatic play is when children place themselves into a familiar role. For example, if the children were taking the role as one of their family members or another familiar character, they would be experiencing imitative role-play. Other levels of this dramatic play expand from the question of “what am I playing with?” to “what am I saying to whom I am playing with?” From an outside perspective, it may appear that a child who is cleaning his or her make believe house is just pretending. But, their dramatic and sociodramatic play levels are developing through the child recognizing that they have reasons for their actions. While it may seem as if two children playing house is not important, this play is actually vital to their developmental growth. The interactions that are made can lead a child to learn more about their surroundings and can gain the ability to control certain