6 Stages of Play

Stages of play is a theory and classification of children's participation in play developed by Mildred Parten Newhall in her 1929 dissertation.[1] Parten observed American preschool age (ages 2 to 5) children at free play (defined as anything unrelated to survival, production, or profit).

Parten recognized six different types of play:

Unoccupied (play) When the child is not playing, just observing. A child may be standing in one spot or performing random movements. Also making a lot of movements with their arms, legs, hands, feet, etc. They are learning about and discovering how their body moves.

Solitary (independent) play

When the child is alone and maintains focus on its activity. Such a child is uninterested in or is unaware of what others are doing. More common in younger children (age 2–3) as opposed to older ones.