The stages of play your child should experience as they grow

Play is an important part of a child’s emotional, intellectual, and social la gauge development. If you have concerns that your child isn’t playing at the age that they should, you should contact a Speech and Language therapist.

Functional Play

Functional Play begins when your child is two years old or younger. Your child should be exploring how common objects work and can be used. Your child will be very curious and will be utilising all their sensory properties, such as textures, sounds, visual input, as well as motor skills. One example is that a baby may put something in their mouth, shake a rattle, or hit objects against one another. 

Constructional Play

Constructional play begins when your child is around two years old. It involves using materials to make other objects. You should always have materials available on hand for your children to make crafts such as play dough, building a block of tower and more!

Symbolic or Pretend Play

Symbolic play or dramatic/ pretend play is when a child can pretend to do common everyday activities as play. They should be able to do this when they are three to five years old. Some examples include pretending to feed others, brush a doll’s hair or drive a kid’s car. Pretend play is important for your child to exercise their motor skills and learn how to do daily activities.

Game Play

Game play has a clear set of rules to follow and depends on turn-taking where more advanced social skills come to play. Some examples include board games, card games, or sports. Game play is important for your child to understand verbal cues and exercise their social skills and your child should be able to do so when they are at the age where they are going to school.

Social Play

Social play begins when your child is as young as four months old and continues into adulthood. Children learn by watching others, play independently or near others, and begin to share materials and ideas with friends. Social play will improve their language and social skills as they grow up.