What Is Parallel Play And How Does Your Baby Benefit From It?

| What Is Parallel Play | Examples | Why Is Parallel Play Important |

If you’ve taken your baby to a playdate only to find that they sit near other children but never join in the fun, you may be just a bit concerned. 

Does this mean your baby is anti-social at such a tender age? 

Is the reluctance to engage in social interaction a sign of something more serious?

You can relax. 

Your baby isn’t holding anything back. They are engaging in parallel play. They’re doing exactly what they should be doing at this age and right on cue. 

What Is Parallel Play

Parallel play takes place when two toddlers play near one another, usually with the same material, without interacting directly. Parallel play is quite common in young children from 18 months old to age two.^​1​

During parallel play, some children observe their playmates and mimic their behavior. While this can be considered as social behavior, there’s still a noticeable lack of full-on interaction^​2​.

Examples Of Parallel Play

Parallel play is often seen on the playground among young children. 

When two toddlers play in the sandbox near each other, they may both grab handfuls of sand and watch it sift through their fingers. Or they both use  a bucket to build a sand castle. Each one is engaged with the process but not with each other.

If a playmate is playing with a doll, for example, the other child is likely to start playing with a doll as well.

Why Is Parallel Play Important

Every type of play contributes to a child’s cognitive development and social development, and parallel play is no exception^​3​.

But the importance of this type of play is divided into two schools of thought.

Stages of play

Parten (1932) described parallel play as a stage children pass through as they develop from solitary players to social ones. She believed that the six stages of play – unoccupied, onlooker, solitary, parallel, associative, cooperative – were ordered, representing increasing levels of social participation.

As a result, parallel play is important because it represents a milestone in a child’s development of social skills. With age, this type of play will decrease^​4​.

Strategy of play

Although Parten’s study proposed six categories of play as “stages”, other scientists have found that children sometimes do not go through these stages sequentially or at all.

While one child can progress from solitary play to parallel play and then to group play, another can go directly from solitary play to group play^​5​.

Parallel play is also found to not vary much with age.

Sugarman-Bell (1978), believed that children developed person-oriented and object-oriented interactive abilities separately, resulting in two major modes of play – alone play and group play.

As the first year progresses, these two abilities begin to work together. Children begin integrating people into their physical activity of object manipulation and objects into their social environment in a systematic way.

Adding a social focus or an object focus is done one at a time, not simultaneously. 

Children who are playing alone may desire to play with other children but may not have the skills to engage in group play immediately. Parallel play is a step or strategy to bring them closer to group play. It is an optional state that arises momentarily as needed. It provides a child opportunities to play with others.

Parallel play is therefore important because it initiates group play rather than being a developmental stage as previously believed^​6​.

Final thoughts on parallel play

Playing, regardless of the types of play, is important in a child’s healthy development. It challenges and socializes a child through activities. Help them develop connections with people by setting up playdates for your child with children their age.

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