Social play is a broad term that covers the many ways that toddlers interact with other toddlers in a play-based environment.
Social play in early childhood is more than just fun and games for your toddler. Active engagement in social play enables a toddler to develop strong social connection instincts. It also aids their personal growth and brings many positive benefits to a toddler. For example, enhanced communication skills, socialization, emotional self-regulation, and confidence.
These are all key attributes that a developing toddler will need as they progress into an academic surrounding.
The foundation for social confidence in your child is formed in the early toddler years. Through positive social play, they learn about the world around them and how they fit in with other young individuals around them.
In this guide my aim is to familiarise you with social play as a concept and to support your understanding of how to use it to benefit your own toddlers development.
Why Is Social Play Important in Early Childhood?
Through play-based social interactions your toddler will develop a range of key early-stage development attributes. Communication, empathy, cooperation and emotional self-regulation are all developed through the experience of social play.
These attributes, and skills, are very important for your toddler’s long-term development. Skills and attributes that we worked to develop in our toddler Nina.
Keep in mind that social play extends beyond just ‘playtime’ for your toddler.
Social play should be seen as a critical component of the educational tools available to you in supporting your toddler’s development.
From the parallel play of toddlers (where they play side by side but separately) to advanced cooperative play (where they share goals) social play is to be seen as a means to develop cognitive, social and emotional growth in a toddler.
On our journey to direct our toddler’s development, we read everything available on social play. Fast-track your learning journey with the guidance and tips I share below. I want to share with you what Ailin and I have learnt about social play for early years children and how we implemented what we learned with Nina.
I hope that equipped with a comprehensive understanding of social play, and its benefits, you’ll embrace it. By the end of this guide, you’ll not only appreciate key social play concepts, you’ll know everything required to implement it effectively with your toddler.
Understanding Social Play in Early Childhood
Understanding social play in early childhood is best done by considering what the term encompasses.
Social play encompasses any play activity that involves interaction between the young child and their peers.
However for that interaction to be positive the play scenario must be structured. The play activity will be designed to involve interaction that specifically facilitates one or more of the following:
- communication
- Cooperation; and
- Negotiation
As a result, social play is not simply a case of leaving your toddler to play as they choose with their friends. If you were to do this, one thing you’d notice is that early-year children tend to engage in solo play. Yes, they will enjoy being in the presence of their peers but you’ll notice that the engagement between them is limited.
It is for this reason that a key fundamental of social play in the early years, particularly at the toddler stage, is parent involvement.
Yes, as you’ll be aware if you’ve read other guides on our site, (such as our guide to directed learning) we regularly ‘bang the drum’ of directed learning. It’s so critical in these early years of your child’s development.
The requirement to include parental direction in the play scenario does not mean that the play needs to be complicated. Social play can take many forms. From simple games of catch to complex imaginative scenarios enacted with the child’s friends. Regardless of its form, the goal of social play lies in fostering connections between young children, allowing them to explore the boundaries of their developing social world.
The Emergence of Social Play
Social play begins to emerge naturally in the latter part of infancy (2 years and upwards) and becomes increasingly prominent and sophisticated throughout early childhood.
In their earlier years, young children, particularly those at the toddler age of around 2 years, engage in what is known as “onlooker play”. You can read more about onlooker play at PG Pedia.
This type of play involves the child observing other children playing but not joining in themselves. As the child transitions into toddlerhood, they are likely to start engaging in “parallel play.”
This is where they play alongside other children with similar toys but without direct interaction. This is a crucial stage because it marks the beginning of social awareness—the recognition that other children are present and engaged in similar activities.
As children grow, their play becomes more interactive. Their play will naturally evolve into “Associative play”.
This is where the child will start to interact with their peers. For example, sharing toys and engaging in basic exchanges, though not yet working towards a common goal.
The pinnacle of social play in early childhood is “cooperative play”.
This is where children actively collaborate. For example, they will share goals, and negotiate roles within their play activities. Hence, the term ‘collaborative’ The Bright Wheel Blog does a good job of explaining this level of social play.
This stage reflects significant developmental advancements for the child, indicating the child’s ability to empathise with others, communicate effectively, and contribute to group activities.
The role of ‘parental direction’ in social play is to support the ‘fast-tracking’ of the natural evolution of the child’s social play.
Between the stages of onlooker and collaborative play is associated play. We’ll delve into the three levels of social play in more detail below. Toddlers at the “Associative” play stage can be directed and encouraged to engage in “cooperative play activities.”
We found that it worked well to sit with our three-year-old daughter and her friend and take part in the play scenario, giving them guidance on how to cooperate.
A simple example was cooperative painting, which our daughter and her friends enjoyed. We would paint on a large sheet of paper the outline of a tree. A simple tree, just a trunk and a bushy top. It was explained that the goal is to create the best tree painting by colouring it in together.
One child would be asked to paint the trunk and the other the leaves. Each would require a level of support and encouragement to keep their attention focused on the exercise.
Once the activity was completed, we would congratulate them both on how well “together” they had painted the tree.
The Significance of Social Play
The significance of social play in early childhood cannot be overstated. It is a key element of natural social development. By guiding the social play you can increase the pace at which your child develops the key attributes that social play fosters.
You’ll notice that through the play scenarios, your child will experiment with different ways of interacting, which helps them understand the perspectives of other children. They will develop empathy, and with guidance, they will learn to manage their emotions and behaviours in socially acceptable ways. You’ll observe your child experience excitement, frustration, joy, and disappointment during their social play. With positive guidance, they will become experienced in understanding and regulating these emotions.
Social play also contributes to language development. The play scenarios provide the young children with opportunities to use language in meaningful contexts. Guided by you they will enhance their vocabulary, sentence structure, and conversational skills.
As the children progress to engage in cooperative play they can be encouraged to negotiate the rules of a game themselves and create their own imaginative stories for their play.
With progression you will observe the children begin to resolve conflicts amongst each other, and use, and refine, their language skills in ways that are directly relevant to their social experiences.
The Role of Adults in Social Play
The role of adults in social play lies in facilitating and guiding the interactions between young children. We found that when our daughter was between the ages of 2 and 3 it was necessary to fully involve ourselves in the play scenarios for them to be effective. Now that she is three (3 years and 5 months at the date of writing this guide) we find that we can work with her, and her friends, to create a scenario and provide direction, without needing to be a feature of the play scenario ourselves.
The age of the children will dictate the level of adult involvement that is required.
Additionally, adults can help children navigate the challenges of social play. For example, conflict resolution. The children will inevitably begin to quarrel over aspects of the play. or they will want to switch roles part way through.
Gentle support and guidance are required from the adult to assist them in resolving the matter. They will observe the approach to resolution of the matter, and before long you’ll see them applying similar approaches themselves when conflict emerges within groups of children that they are engaging with.
Types of Social Play in Early Childhood
Ok, let’s move on to consider in detail the types of social play that we outlined above.
As explained above, social play in early childhood will naturally manifest into various three key forms that can be categorised into the following categories:
- Parallel Play
- Associative Play;
- Cooperative play
Parallel Social Play
If you leave a small group of toddlers to play amongst themselves they are likely to naturally engage in parallel play. You will observe them happily playing next to each other but with little direct interaction between them.
You’ll notice that your child will very much enjoy this type of play. They will most likely enjoy it more than if they were playing alone without the other child (or children) present.
At this stage of social play, the adult can provide support by encouraging awareness amongst the children of what the other children are doing. This will assist the young child in ‘warming up’ to the idea of interaction
Real-life Example: Two children sitting side by side in a playpen, playing with duplo bricks, each building something, occasionally looking at what the other is doing but not talking to each other. This example of parallel play demonstrates how children are curious as to what the other is doing.
At this stage, they are on the cusp of social interaction and can be encouraged, and guided, to tell the other child what they are building. These simple verbal interactions between the young children will stimulate progress towards the next stage ‘Associative Play’.
Associative Play
Associative play marks the beginning of direct interaction among young children. Whilst at this stage they will not be engaging in a common goal through the play, they will begin to actively engage with each other. For example, you will observe the children begin to communicate with each other.
Adult direction can be applied to encourage interactions and steer the children towards working together with a common goal.
Real-life Example:
Brick building – As in the example above, the children can be encouraged to play with Duplo bricks. This time the adult will direct them towards building the same object. For example a tower, or a castle. The children will be encouraged to talk about how they are building the object, whether will it be big, or small, and what colors will it be.
In this example, each child is doing their own thing in building their own tower, or castle, but are actively encouraged to engage with the other who is themselves playing ‘in parallel’.
Cooperative Social Play
Cooperative play is a sophisticated form of play where children work together towards a common goal. This type of play is paramount for teaching children about teamwork, sharing, and the joys of achieving something as a group. Activities can range from constructing a building with blocks, organizing a make-believe event, or playing team-based games.
Real-life Example: Imagine a group of children deciding to build the tallest tower they can with blocks. They discuss who will do what, negotiate the structure’s design, and share the blocks to accomplish their goal. This scenario exemplifies cooperative play, highlighting how children can collaborate, solve problems, and celebrate their collective success.
In the above examples, we use ‘brick building’ as the scenario but the opportunities are endless. For example, our daughter and her friends enjoyed painting. First, painting their own drawings and be encouraged to talk about it, then begin to paint the same object and discuss it. Finally moving to collaborating in painting one object together.
The opportunities are endless, as we say. In a separate guide, we’ll talk about ‘Dramatic Social Play’. This is a type of cooperative play where children adopt roles and scenarios. For example doctor and patient. Shopkeeper and customer. As our daughter marked her third birthday dramatic cooperative play became the cornerstone of her social play time with other children.
In summary, the importance of social play in early childhood development cannot be overstated. It is through these playful interactions that children build the foundation for learning, development and social interaction.
You can support your toddler’s development by fostering environments and encouraging diverse forms of social play. Experiment with a friend and their young toddler. Adults play a critical role in supporting their children in developing the cognitive, emotional, social, linguistic, and physical skills necessary for healthy development and future success.
Before we close out this guide, I’ll cover below some of the more common questions that we see asked about social play in early childhood.
Frequently Asked Questions
At what age should social play be encouraged?
Social play should be encouraged from infancy. Structured social play can be implemented from the age of two years and upwards. Even infants will benefit from parallel play. As the infant reaches toddlerhood more interactive forms of social play can be introduced.
Is it normal for a child to prefer solitary play over social play?
Yes, it’s normal for some children to show a preference for solitary play at times, particularly in their infancy and early toddlerhood years. However, it’s important to encourage and create opportunities for interactive social play. Encourage a balance that respects the child’s individual temperament while gradually introducing more social play activities.
Can social play impact academic performance?
Absolutely, yes. Social play develops skills such as problem-solving, cooperation, and emotional regulation. These skills are all directly linked to academic success. Children who engage in social play are better prepared for the collaborative and social demands of the classroom, which in turn will contribute to their performance at school.
How can I promote social play if my child is shy?
Start by introducing social play in familiar, low-pressure environments with just one or two of your child’s peers. Start will parallel play and work upwards gradually introducing associative and then cooperative pay scenarios.
What if I don’t have access to outdoor spaces for social play?
Social play isn’t limited to outdoor spaces. You can create engaging social play environments anywhere that is safe. Public parks are a great location for outdoor social play opportunities.
Are there any risks associated with social play?
Like any activity involving young children, social play comes with the need for adult supervision to ensure safety and positive interactions. The benefits of social play far outweigh the risks, and with appropriate adult guidance, and intervention when necessary, social play is a safe and enriching experience for young children.
Can too much social play detract from learning?
Balance is key. Social play and structured learning complement each other. Social play reinforces many skills necessary for academic success. Young children must be encouraged to engage in both guided learning and social play for their overall development.
Further Resources on Social Play
For those interested in deepening their understanding of social play, below are some of the resources that we found useful.
Books
Play: How it Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul by Stuart Brown, M.D. (Available on Amazon)
This book is a great starting point for developing a detailed understanding of social play. The book provides a detailed review of how play influences creativity, productivity, as well as emotional health in young children.
The Power of Play: Learning What Comes Naturally by David Elkind, Ph.D. (Available on Amazon)
This book also explores the importance of play in children’s development but argues for more unstructured playtime. Worth reading
Websites
NAEYC (National Association for the Education of Young Children) – www.naeyc.org
This is a leading professional organization that provides detailed articles, research, and other resources covering early childhood education. Geat features on the best practices for encouraging social play.
Zero to Three – www.zerotothree.org
This website focuses on the early years of childhood development. As the site name suggests – new born to age 3. The site provides excellent free resources that cover how play supports learning and development from birth to age three.
We found that these resources provided a great starting point for our journey in exploring social play and its critical role in early childhood development. We hope that you too will find them useful.
Lastly, we hope that you found our guide to social play in early childhood to be engaging and worth the read. Please feel free to send us any comments.
