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Writer's pictureChloe Wong

5 types of play

Updated: Jul 26, 2023

"Play is a child's important job," as Maria Montessori famously said. Here at Blackburn Speech, we believe in creating sessions that follow the child's lead, yet playful, ensuring our preschoolers not only have a blast but also learn along the way!


When it comes to categorizing types of play, it's not always easy to neatly separate them. The modern psychological literature identifies five broad types of play, each with its own benefits -


1. Physical play:

- Active exercise play like jumping, dancing, and ball games.

- Fine-motor play involving coloring, cutting, and construction toys.

- Rough-and-tumble play with siblings, parents/guardians, or friends.


- Benefits:

  • Helps develop whole-body coordination and hand-eye coordination. It's crucial for building strength and endurance. Also supports emotional and social skills, teaching children to control aggression and regulate themselves.


2. Play with objects:

- Involves exploring textures, such as feeling the textile of a doll.

- Sorting and classifying objects like toy cars or assembling Legos.


- Benefits:

  • Promotes cognitive skills, problem-solving abilities, perseverance, and a positive attitude towards challenges.




3. Symbolic play:

- Includes various symbolic systems like language, numbers, music, and art.


- Benefits:

  • Supports the development of expressing and reflecting on personal experiences, ideas, and emotions.


4. Games with rules:

- Examples include hide-and-seek, board games, card games, and sports.


- Benefits:

  • Helps children understand rules and develop social skills like sharing, taking turns, and understanding others' perspectives.





5. Pretend/socio-dramatic play:

- The most prevalent and complex form of play.

- Associated with the development of cognitive, social, language, and academic abilities.


-Benefits:

  • As they pretend to be different people or control objects, they are practising social and emotional roles of life.

  • Encourages perspective taking (walking in someone else’s shoes)

  • Develops self-esteem and self-awareness.

  • Learns how to recognise and respond to others feelings when involved in group imaginary activities.

  • Improves language and communication skill

  • Develops their thinking, learning, and problem-solving abilities


This information is based on the work of Whitebread (2012).


We hope this breakdown of play types helps you understand the diverse ways in which children learn and grow through play!


Reference: (Whitebread, 2012)

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