Parallel play

For the Sloan album, see Parallel Play.
The two girls painting show parallel play because although they are engaging in the same activity they are not paying attention to each other.

Parallel play is a form of play in which children play adjacent to each other, but do not try to influence one another's behavior; it typically begins around 24–30 months.[1][2] It is one of Parten's stages of play, following onlooker play and preceding associative play.

An observer will notice that the children occasionally see what the others are doing and then modify their play accordingly. The older the children are, the less frequently they engage in this type of play. However, even older preschool children engage in parallel play, an enduring and frequent activity over the preschool years. The image of parallel play is two children playing side by side in a sandbox, each absorbed in their own game, not interacting with the other. "This is considered an early stage in child development, characterized by egocentric behavior and the inability to decenter and coordinate with the activities of a 'playmate'".[3]

In education, parallel play also describes activities where students are divided into pairs or small groups and work on the same activity simultaneously. This gives all students equal opportunity for active involvement and reduces exposure – since all students are playing, none are watching. This stage ends when a child develops the ability to engage in interactive play behavior and symbolic communication.[3]

Parallel play is not only between children, but may also be used in cases of autism, where the adult caregiver parallel plays beside the autistic child.

  1. ^ Howard, Justine (2017). Mary Sheridan's play in early childhood : from birth to six years (Fourth ed.). Abingdon, Oxon. ISBN 978-1-138-65588-1. OCLC 951949840.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  2. ^ CDC (2022-07-01). "What developmental milestones is your 30-month-old reaching?". Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved 2022-09-23.
  3. ^ a b Conrad, Peter (December 1997). "Parallel play in medical anthropology and medical sociology". The American Sociologist. 28 (4): 90–100. doi:10.1007/s12108-997-1021-4. JSTOR 27698849. S2CID 144263774. ProQuest 1941381514.