Parten’s stages of play

Powerpoint showing the stages of play as outlined by Mildred Parten

1. Parten’s stages
of social play
Presenter: Theresa C. Brown

2. What is play?
Play is a pleasurable activity that is
actively engaged in on a voluntary
basis, is intrinsically motivated and
contains some non-literal elements.
(Cook and Cook,2007)

3. Play
•What is your definition of play?

4. Parten’s stages
of social play
Unoccupied Play
•The child is not playing or watching
anyone or anything in particular.
•They might stand or sit and just do
nothing.

5. Onlooker Play
•The child spends most of their time
watching others play.
•They might talk to the players, but
will not engage in the actual play
activity
Parten’s stages
of social play

6. Solitary play
•The child plays alone.
•No connection or conversation is
made with anyone nearby.
Parten’s stages
of social play

7. Parallel play
•The child plays alone but with toys
that are shared with others.
•The child plays beside other children
but communication might be limited
or none at all.
Parten’s stages
of social play

8. Associative play
•The child plays with other children.
•The play is not coordinated. They
may talk and share toys but they are
still independent players.
Parten’s stages
of social play

9. Cooperative play
•Children come together and play.
•A group of children with a common
goal or similar interests, acting out
adult situations or playing formal
games.
Parten’s stages
of social play

10. Think and Discuss
•What stage of play is most evident
with your own children, those in your
neighbourhood or those at your
school? Share your findings.

11. Watch and Note
•In your table
groups, watch the
following video and
identify the type
of play featured in
each section.
•Record your
observation on the
table provided
Stage of play
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

13. Report
•In your table
groups, report on
the findings from
your observation of
the video.
Stage of play
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

14. Further reading
•Use the search engines
–Bing
–Dogpile
–Google
–Answers.com
to find other articles that speak about the
different stages of play.
•Email to lecturer.

15. Play is a child’s work