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. Parten’s stages
of social play
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

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

7. Parten’s stages
of social play
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.

8. Parten’s stages
of social play
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.

9. Parten’s stages
of social play
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.

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. 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.

12. Play is a child’s work