Stages of play

Functional play – picture an infant shaking a rattle or a toddler banging a toy hammer on a shelf. These are examples of functional play – simple movements that involve the senses. The repetition helps the child to learn about the physical world and the properties of objects. Much of the play of infants and toddlers is functional play. 

Constructive play – picture a preschool child rolling clay into little balls or stacking flat stones. These are examples of constructive play, which is a style of play in which the child uses play materials to create something. The child may or may not have a plan/intended outcome. Children usually start to engage in constructive play around age two. 

Symbolic play – picture a child using a rectangular block as a telephone or sitting in a large cardboard box and pretending it is a house. These examples of symbolic play show the child using one object to represent another. This type of play can start off as simple imitation and pretend. It progresses to dramatic and sociodramatic play, in which children act out stories with others and may include props and costumes. This type of play is typically seen through the preschool years. 

Games with rules play – picture school age children playing a game of soccer or with a deck of cards. Games with rules play can include games with set rules or rules that the children develop together. The games may or may not be competitive, but they require children to agree on the rules and to follow them in order to play together. While preschoolers can play games with simple rules, cognitive advances in the school age period allow children to manage and enjoy more complicated games with rules.