Let the children play: How to support child development

Preschool-age children are most engaged in pretend play 10-15 minutes after playing begins. In addition, girls exhibit higher organisational skills, according to a study conducted by researchers from SWPS University and Istanbul University.

The paper "The Dynamics of Pretend Play: Exploring Organization, Elaboration, and Imagination in Early Childhood" was published in the journal Early Education and Development by psychologists Natalia Józefacka, PhD, from the Institute of Psychology at SWPS University and Beyza Hamamcı, PhD, from Istanbul University. The publication is part of a larger study on how self-regulation develops in children and how young children, depending on their age and gender, are able to adapt to the demands of their environment.

The process of self-regulation in children has been studied from various perspectives, including observation of pretend play. We have known from the literature that the form of play changes with age, with the most intense "age of play" occurring during preschool years, says study author Natalia Józefacka. Most previous research in this area, however, has been conducted in laboratory settings, and has most often focused on play between two children (e.g., siblings) or between a parent and child. The researchers wanted to investigate how children play in a natural environment, in larger peer groups.

Natalia Józefacka mentions that Polish preschools place a strong emphasis on educational activities, and yet play is essential for a child's proper development. In pretend play, by taking on various roles, children can independently practice the social skills they acquire, for example, by observing adults, Józefacka explains.

The researchers also aimed to demonstrate how a single play cycle unfolds, and that children need time to immerse themselves in it. Only then does the play develop, and finally, at a certain point, children run out of ideas, become bored, and begin looking for something new.

When play is most engaging

The researchers analysed the behaviour of 93 Polish children aged 3 to 6 during a 30-minute play session. They were particularly interested in three aspects: organisation (i.e., the quality and complexity of the narrative), elaboration of scenarios (attention to detail and role-playing), and imagination (reflected, among other things, in the creative use of objects).

The children, familiar with each other and in a familiar preschool environment, were offered three pretend play stations: a dress-up area with costumes, a construction area equipped with LEGO Duplo bricks, and a table with toy kitchen utensils and toy food items. The children were given no instructions or prompts; they were simply told they could play. Their play was observed for 30 minutes, and the entire process was recorded using a video camera.

The most important finding from the study is that children's engagement in play has its own rhythm. It turns out that the peak period, when children are most active and fully immersed in the experience, occurs between 10 and 15 minutes after the start of play. This trend persisted regardless of the children's gender and age. However, slight differences appeared between girls and boys. In the case of boys, engagement reached a certain point and remained at that level practically until the end of the task, while in the case of girls, it increased more quickly and then declined to roughly the same level as the engagement of boys.

Girls and boys: Imagination in common

How do children differ during play? Girls scored higher in all measured aspects, showed greater attention to story structure and detail. Their play was more often based on creating complex narratives.

Boys, on the other hand, more often chose play focused on action and movement. Interestingly, the smallest gender differences were observed in the area of ​​imagination. Both boys and girls were similarly skilled at creating fantasy scenarios.

How does play change with age? The older children get, the more their play evolves towards being more structured. In addition, while three-year-olds play more spontaneously, their engagement is less stable and they lose interest more quickly. Older children (5-6 years old), on the other hand, can concentrate for much longer periods.

The period between 4 and 5 years of age is crucial for preschoolers. The older a child is, the better they can organise their play. Children aged 5-6 can become more engaged from the very beginning, and they may even remain engaged for longer than 30 minutes. With 3-4-year-olds, however, an element of boredom becomes apparent as time passes, the psychologist explains.

More time for play

It turns out that pretend play, when the imagination and organisational skills of children are at their peak, is a crucial element in a child's development, which is why it is best to allow preschoolers to play undisturbed. Our results suggest that preschool education needs a balance between educational activities and pretend play. Playtime should be long enough for children to develop an imagined scenario and practice regulatory skills during it. This is a stage on which they can practice things they will need later in school. And for this, they need time: to build the entire play experience, to complete it, and even to become bored with it, emphasises Natalia Józefacka.

The study results provide evidence that pretend play is not an unproductive activity, but an important tool for building the competencies of the younger generation, and adequate time should be allocated to enable that process.