Do You Like to Play?

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Play is an important developmental skill for children.  In 1933 Mildred Parton described six types of play. The stages and ages are defined as follows:

Newborns:  Unoccupied Play: The child displays random movements with relatively stationary positions.

Below 12 months: Solitar​y Play: The child is engaged in activity but does not notice other peers. The focus is the play and the toy only. Eye contact or inclusion is for the goal of getting the toy.

2 - 2 1/2 years: Onlooker/Spectator Play: The budding interest in other children can be observed by how the kid watch peers. Seldom does the kid join in. 

2 1/2 to 3 years: Parallel Play involves children watching and imitating while standing near each other. The focus is still on the toy. 

3 to 4 years: Associative Play: The social interactions begin!  Children now openly show interest in engaging with other children. 

4 to 6 years: Cooperative Play: Children play together rather nicely at this stage. The kids enjoy rule-based games. 

An underlying objective in every session is to promote appropriate social language skills through incrementally appropriate tasks. Thus, get ready to roll-up your sleeves and play. It is the ideal way to get young children to advance in their social language development.