Types of Play and Why They're Important for Child Development

Children love to play because it's fun, but it's also vital for healthy development. During different types of play, children practice key social, cognitive, physical, and emotional skills.

Whether they are building a tower, rolling a ball, or pretending, play teaches kids about problem-solving, cause and effect, creative thinking, communication, and proprioception (awareness of the body in space). Play also encourages the development of fine and gross motor skills. The benefits of play are progressive, meaning that your child's skills will build upon each other.

“Play is how young children make sense of the world,” says Lauren Starnes, EdD, a child development expert and chief academic officer for The Goddard School. “It's through play that young children reenact social situations and take on different roles and perspectives.”

Keep reading to learn about what children gain from different types of play at each age and stage.

Stages of Play by Age

Children will participate in many different types of play as they grow. This includes the six stages of play outlined by sociologist Mildred Parten:

• Unoccupied play (0–3 months)
• Solitary play (0–2 years)
• Onlooker play (2 years)
• Parallel play (2+ years)
• Associative play (3–4 years)
• Cooperative play (4+ years)

According to Parten’s research, children progress through these six stages before they’re 5 years old. Once they master them, they’ll try out other types of play, including competitive play, dramatic play, and more. 

Unoccupied play

Newborns from 1 to 3 months old will participate in unoccupied play. Think of it as their first attempt to learn about the world. They’ll observe their surroundings and make random body movements out of curiosity. Unoccupied play might not look like playing, but it sets the stage for future development.

Though newborns will engage in unoccupied play on their own, it doesn’t hurt to encourage exploration. You can encourage unoccupied play by:

• Laying your baby on a playmat
• Showing your baby colorful pictures
• Playing with toys in front of them
• Talking to them often

Interaction with caregivers helps babies gain awareness about their new life.

Solitary play

From birth to around 2 years old, children don’t pay much attention to playmates in social settings. They’d rather keep themselves entertained through independent play. By engaging in solo play, kids learn about their surroundings, build confidence and independence, practice creativity, experience cause and effect, and fine-tune their motor skills.

You can encourage independent play by:

• Giving your toddler a wide range of toys, from push toys to stuffed animals
• Rotating toys in their play spaces frequently
• Putting many different types of colorful books in their play spaces
• Allowing them the freedom to play with toys how they wish (in a safe manner, of course)

Onlooker play

Around 2 years old, toddlers engage in onlooker play. This involves watching others playing but not participating themselves. Parents might be quick to discount the benefits of onlooker play, but experts say it helps kids gain the confidence needed to join the fun. They’ll learn how to play and interact with others. 

You can encourage onlooker play by:

• Letting your toddler watch you complete interesting tasks like solving a puzzle or playing piano
• Encouraging older siblings to allow younger children to watch them build a maze or play kickball

Parallel play

Have you ever noticed a group of toddlers playing side-by-side but not together? They’re engaging in parallel play. Kids might use the same toys and mimic each other but won’t directly interact with their peers. Parallel play is common in kids from ages 2 to 3. It indicates a child is almost ready for social interaction.

You can encourage parallel play by:

• Providing enough toys and activities (like stuffed animals, blocks, sticker books, sandboxes, playdough) for two or more children to be entertained at once
• Offering multiple of the same popular toys to minimize conflict
• Not forcing children to interact (they’ll still learn valuable lessons about cooperation and socialization)

Associative play

Around ages 3 or 4, children become more interested in the actions of others. They’ll begin engaging with their peers while playing, but they’ll still do things mainly on their own.

For example, kids might draw on the same paper without commenting on each other’s designs, or they might exchange clothes while playing dress-up. Because kids won’t be working toward a shared goal, there’s little organization involved with associative play. This type of play helps with social skills, cooperation, language, problem-solving, and conflict resolution.

You can encourage associative play by:

• Putting your child in a social setting with peers regularly (like daycare, preschool, playdates)
• Continuing to offer plenty of toys and activities that interest a wide range of young children

Cooperative play

The stage of cooperative play is when children truly start playing with others. Kids first participate in cooperative play around 4 or 5 years old. It lets them practice skills they’ve gained through other stages of play, such as verbal communication, teamwork, and sharing. They’ll also learn new skills like kindness, empathy, and compromise.

Through cooperative play, kids work toward a common goal, whether it’s building a block tower together or playing duck-duck-goose. It’s essential for social and emotional development.

You can encourage cooperative play by:

• Modeling cooperative play (like taking turns and sharing) in family games or activities
• Encouraging activities that require cooperation, such as raking leaves, building a fort, or organizing toys

Other Types of Play

As kids progress through the stages of play, you’ll know they’re advancing physically and cognitively, says Dr. Starnes. They’re gaining confidence and knowledge while remaining challenged, which demonstrates evolved thought processes. 

The following are other ways your child might play beyond Parten’s six stages, and the important skills they develop as they interact with toys, nature, and other people in these ways.

Symbolic play

Around 18 months, toddlers may experiment with symbolic play, using one object to represent another. For instance, they may use a marker as a cell phone or pretend a ball is an apple. They may also start to engage in one or two simple acts of pretend play, like stirring a pot on the stove in a play kitchen or pretending to drink from a teacup.

You can encourage symbolic play by:

• Using different objects to represent common items (blocks as food items, for example)
• Demonstrating how to engage with symbolic items (such as using a paper towel roll as a telescope)

As your child observes you, this will spark their creativity to use other toys and objects as symbols in their play, too.

Dramatic or fantasy play

Dramatic play focuses on your child’s most impressive tool: their imagination. Any type of fantastical activity falls into this category, such as dress-up, playing "house," or pretending you work at a restaurant. "They're trying out behaviors to mimic what they see in the real world," says Dr. Starnes.

You can encourage dramatic play by:

• Giving children toys and other items that fit their role-play games (such as stuffed animals, plastic dinnerware)
• Creating a "costume box" full of outfits and accessories
  

Competitive play

As its name suggests, competitive play consists of organized activities with rules and winners. Some examples are family board games and sports. Not only do children learn about teamwork through competitive play, but they also gain experience with taking turns, following rules, and coping with failure, which are all important lessons for navigating society.

You can encourage competitive play by:

• Hosting family game nights
• Enrolling your child in sports they enjoy
• Signing your child up for fun competitions that mirror their interests (such as spelling bees, community foot or bike races)

As your child becomes familiar with the activities, you might notice their resilience and confidence growing!

Physical play

Physical play involves body movement, but not necessarily in a competitive setting. Some examples are playing tag, throwing a frisbee, dancing to music, and riding scooters. Physical play can develop fine and gross motor skills in children. It also helps with balance, hand-eye coordination, muscle development, and more.

You can encourage physical play by:

• Inviting your child to join you for impromptu physical play, like dancing or a backyard soccer game
• Permitting mild roughhousing with siblings or friends, provided everyone consents (If you notice the play is becoming too violent, you can redirect it, suggests Dr. Starnes.)
  

Constructive play

Through constructive play, children create something with materials in an organized way (think building with Legos or making a sandcastle). They’re relying on their ideas to navigate the world around them.

Constructive play teaches about persistence, planning, creativity, and logical thinking. Kids also get real-world experience with scientific and mathematical concepts, which often fuels their natural curiosity.  

You can encourage constructive play by:

• Providing materials that can be used for construction, like wood, sand, craft supplies, train tracks, building blocks
• Prompting their curiosity: Can they build a bridge for their race cars? What about a tunnel from recycled materials?