Made For Play Blog
Explore child development through play, find inspiration for your next DIY project, and discover tips for selecting the perfect toys for your little ones.
Latest Articles
Stages of Play: How Kids Should Play By Age
We’ve written about types of play before – like imaginative, constructive, and active play to name a few – but many parents wonder if there are stages of play too. As in, “Should my kid play a certain way by the time they reach a certain age?” Of course, all types of play evolve as kids get older (like clumsy toddling turning into full-out sprinting or tiny block towers becoming complex structures). But some of the most noticeable and predictable developments in play happen in social play. In this post, we’re diving into the six recognized stages of social play with peers and when you can expect to see them! Unoccupied Play: Birth to 3 months When your newborn stares at objects with interest, they’re actually playing! Even if they don’t reach for those objects yet, they’re still attempting to figure out the world around them. And when they do start to reach for those objects, you may notice they don’t have any goals in mind yet; they’re likely to simply grab it and release it instead of trying to bring it to their mouth or manipulate it. This stage of play is known as “unoccupied play,” and, as you could probably guess, it doesn’t involve much social interaction at all. This is the shortest lived of all the stages. Independent Play: 2+ Years Independent play starts when a child really starts to engage with toys and objects and isn’t interested in interaction from peers or adults during that time. Instead, they’re focused on their own play. You’ll see their imaginations and focus grow during this type of play. Eventually, they’ll begin using items to represent other items (an important developmental milestone) and developing their own narratives for the play scenario. This stage can begin as early as a few months old, but it really peaks around age 2. Of course, independent play never truly goes away either. Even when kids become social butterflies, they’ll still enjoy playing by themselves occasionally. Onlooker Play: 0 -2 Years Like unoccupied play, onlooker play may not look like actual play to us. In this stage, kids tend to observe other children playing but don’t join in themselves. While you may feel like you need to encourage them to join, it’s perfectly okay for them to observe too. They’re likely enjoying the time, and they’re gaining valuable information about how older kids interact. These moments will help prepare them for more direct social play in the future. Parallel Play: 2 - 3 Years Ever notice how toddler are perfectly content being next to their little buddies… without actually doing anything with them? This is known as parallel play, and it occurs when kids are play near each other but not with each other. They may be working on similar activities or even follow each other around, but they don’t influence each other’s play yet. Associative Play: 3-4 Years This type of play is a step up from parallel play in terms of social interaction. In associative play, kids may talk to each other and influence each other’s activities but aren’t truly playing with the same things at the same time. For example, they might make suggestions for their friend’s play dough sculpture or try to copy it. Associative play is a great chance for kids to practice talking to one another and learning basic social norms before they begin more complex social play. You’ll usually see it begin around age 3 or a little sooner and last into age 4. Cooperative Play: 4+ Years When we think of “social play,” we mostly picture cooperative play, which emerges around age 4 or 5. This occurs when kids truly begin playing with each other as opposed to near each other. They’ll develop complex imaginative scenarios together and begin playing organized games with rules. Keep in mind that most of these stages refer to how kids play with their peers, not necessarily with adults. Their play with you might look quite different as they likely have more confidence interacting with you, and you are able to give them more direction on how to play than a peer could. So if your two-year old loves to play pretend with you but not with kids their own age, don’t sweat it. You’re helping them gain the confidence, social skills, and language they’ll need to grow into the next stage of social play!
How to Motivate Social Play in Toddlers
We all want our toddlers to grow up with great friends! So much so that we may be tempted to obsess over childhood social milestones and panic if our toddlers seem uninterested in social play. But you might be surprised to learn that social play in toddlers can look totally different than we expect! In this post, we’re diving into what social play is, the different types of social play, and how you can encourage social play in your toddlers! What Is Social Play? No surprises here. Social play is exactly what it sounds like – playing with others. Usually, when professionals use the term, they’re referring to social play with peers, i.e. kids playing with other kids. But social play can also encompass kids playing with parents or other adults. The earliest forms of social play begin in infancy as parents speak to their babies, make them laugh, and play simple games like peek-a-boo. Social play with peers starts later and usually develops in the following stages: Types of Social Play Sociologist Mildred Parten theorized that kids go through several stages of play before they are ready to engage in what we typically think of as social play. Onlooker play is most common around ages 2 and 3 and occurs when kids simply observe other kids playing but don’t join in. Though it may seem like they’re not doing much, they’re actually soaking in a ton of information on social norms and how older kids play together. Parallel play is also common around ages 2 and 3. In this case kids are playing near each other, often doing similar activities, but aren’t really playing with each other yet. Associative play is similar to parallel play but with a little more social interaction as kids may talk to each other and influence each other’s activities (like making suggestions for their block tower or trying to copy a friend’s drawing). This type of play is most common between ages 3 and 4. Cooperative play is what we’re likely thinking of when we picture traditional “social play.” Kids are truly playing with each other, not just near each other, and are interacting and communicating. This type of play can begin around age 3 and emerges as kids’ favorite way to interact with their peers around age 4 to 5 A major takeaway for parents is to recognize that young toddlers’ social play may not look exactly how we expect. If your 18-month-old seems to ignore her playdate buddies or your 2-year-old stares at kids on the playground instead of playing, know that these are actually early stages of social play! Learn more about these and other stages of play in our post, Stages of Play: How Kids Should Play by Age. Play with Adults In addition to these stages of play with peers, there’s another type of social play that can’t be ignored: playing with adults! Toddlers’ interactions with their parents and other caregivers are just as – if not more – critical for their social development as peer interactions. When you play with your toddler and give them your focus, you instill a sense of self worth, develop their language skills, and model how they should interact socially. Why Is Social Play Important? We’ve hinted at it already, but social play is so critical because it’s the primary way kids develop social skills that will help them be successful later in life. Through social play kids develop emotional intelligence and empathy, learn to pick up on social cues, and learn to communicate ideas and feelings. How to Motivate Social Play If you’re here, we’re guessing it’s because you want to teach your toddler how to play with others. That’s definitely a worthwhile goal! Just remember that social play comes with time. Young toddlers will engage more in onlooker and parallel play, and that’s okay! When kids do begin to attempt cooperative play with their peers, expect some tantrums and tears as they do the tough work of learning to share and communicate. Shy children or very strong-willed children may have a tougher time engaging at first, but with practice and some gentle coaching from you, they’ll get there! All that being said, these are a few simple ways you can help motivate your child to engage in social play: Play with Them! Playing with your toddler is one of the most critical things you can do to get them ready for social play. Playing and reading together gives kids the confidence and language skills they need to interact with their peers. They’ll also learn appropriate social behavior as you gently correct and redirect inappropriate behaviors. Hit the Park Parks are a great place to begin meeting peers and practicing social interactions. Young or shy toddlers can learn from onlooker play as they watch the other kids. For kids who are interested in more cooperative play, parks are a great way to practice introductions and initiating play with new friends. Host a Playdate (and Join In) Many kids feel most comfortable on their own turf and might be more likely to engage in social play at home. For some kids, simply being around other kids is enough to kick off social play. For others, a parent’s presence can help them feel more confident. If your child needs it, you and the other parents can join in on the play until your child feels ready to play with their friends on their own. Try a Mix of Familiar & New Activities Just as some kids feel more confident playing in their own home, some will feel confident exploring social play through familiar activities they already do at home. On the other hand, the novelty of new, exciting activities and toys can also encourage reluctant kids to join in on the fun! Organized sports, library craft times, a visit to a friends’ house, or new developmental toys can all be new exposures that get them excited for social play. For more ways to help your toddler’s budding social skills, check out our 7 Sharing Activities for Toddlers and tips to Grow Your Toddler’s Emotional Intelligence. Or, explore our entire collection of social play toys!
Shop by Skill: Social Play
What is social play? In simple terms, social play is a type of play where children directly interact and share with others – whether adults or other kids. Through this type of play they learn social skills like communication, sharing, turn-taking, and following rules. You may be asking, what is the importance of social skills for kids? In a nutshell, these skills help children interact with the world around them. Social skills help kids build relationships and develop skills that will help them be successful as adults. Providing your child with opportunities to engage in social play is one of the best ways to help them build confidence and develop relationships. In addition to these important skills, social play also helps kids to develop emotional intelligence. Toys for Social Development Engaging in simple social play with other children is important for kids to foster social skills, such as peer group leadership skills, emotional regulation, creativity, and working memory. If you’re wondering which type of activity is considered social play, there’s a variety of activities that fall into this category and KidKraft carries an array of toys for both indoors and outdoors that are great for social playing for toddlers and school-aged children. Toys for Social Development Two classic social play examples are playing with dollhouses and pretend kitchens. Kitchen Play Sets – A play kitchen is a classic toy that continues to delight kids and never gets old. Our play kitchens are designed with unique details and features that foster creativity and keep kids engaged in pretend play for hours. Wooden Dollhouses – Playing with dolls and dollhouses is another classic creative and social play activity. Our dollhouses are designed to be interactive and encourage kids to use their imaginations. Outdoor Social Play Toys Social play toys that are excellent for outdoor play are playhouses and swing sets. Outdoor Kids’ Playhouses – Having a kids’ playhouse in your backyard makes it convenient to combine outdoor play with social play. Our playhouses provide kids with hours of fun as they engage in creative, pretend play with their siblings and friends. Outdoor Swing Sets – Bring the playground to your backyard with our collection of wooden swing sets. They’re durable and have a variety of features to keep kids of all ages entertained together for hours. Shop KidKraft’s toys for social development. Your child will have fun and make memories while developing important life skills! Check out our toys for active play, cognitive play, imaginative play, and creative play too!
Shop by Skill: Creative Play
Creative play is a delightful form of play that enables children to have fun expressing themselves and using their active and growing imaginations. Why is creativity through play important? This form of play allows kids to try out different ideas they have while developing a variety of life skills such as problem solving and critical thinking. Creative Play Toys for Kids & Toddlers At KidKraft, you’ll find a great array of toys and playsets that foster creative play, making it easy to find activities that match your child’s interests, personality, and age. Does your child love doll play? Then be sure to browse the selection of creative dollhouses we have available. Our 12-inch dollhouses are some of the best creative play toys for 4-6-year-olds. We also carry a lovely assortment of doll furniture to add more creativity and variety to the dollhouse play experience. Outdoor Creative Play Toys Is your toddler or preschooler an artist at heart? Then why not take their art supplies outside so they can enjoy creating their masterpieces while getting some fresh air and sunshine. Art supplies are wonderful creative kids toys. Our kids’ easel collection offers standing easels in various sizes. These standing easels feature a chalkboard on one side and a dry-erase surface on the other, as well as a paper roll on top. We also carry an art table with drying rack and storage, a tabletop version of the traditional easel design that’s a perfect creative toy for toddlers. Kids’ activity tables are another fantastic option for creative play. From creation stations and chalkboard tables to art tables and more, you’ll find a style your child will enjoy. How Can Creative Activities Impact the Brain? Creative play has a critical role in fostering the development of neural connections, which are essential for enhancing both gross motor skills and fine motor skills. It also provides a way for children to express their emotions through ways other than speaking, such as drawing, painting, and writing. Shop our creative play toys for kids & toddlers. You’ll discover creativity toys your child will love to use again and again. While shopping, be sure to browse our items to inspire active play, cognitive play, imaginative play, and social play.
Shop by Skill: Imaginative Play
Why is imaginative play important? Through this form of play, kids develop creative thinking, language development, and problem-solving skills - critical skills they’ll use throughout their lives. Whether you have a toddler, preschooler, or school-aged kid, they’re the perfect imaginative play age and will reap the benefits of imaginative play. Why is imaginative play important? Through this form of play, kids develop creative thinking, language development, and problem-solving skills - critical skills they’ll use throughout their lives. Whether you have a toddler, preschooler, or school-aged kid, they’re the perfect imaginative play age and will reap the benefits of imaginative play. What are 5 Benefits of Encouraging a Child's Imagination? There are various benefits of encouraging a child’s imagination, 5 of which are: 1. Building self-confidence – When kids get to imagine being a superhero or firefighter, it gives them more confidence in their abilities and potential. 2. Boosting intellectual growth – As the beginning of abstract thought, using their imagination helps kids think symbolically. 3. Developing social skills – Imaginary play helps kids explore relationships with family members and friends. It helps them imagine what it would be like to be in another person’s shoes and develop empathy. 4. Practicing language skills – Imaginary play, especially with others, involves a lot of talking, which boosts vocabulary and improves communication. 5. Easing their fears – If children use imaginary play to face a situation they’re scared of, such as a monster taking them, it gives them a chance to change the narrative and take control of the scenario in their mind! Imaginative Play Toys for Kids & Toddlers At KidKraft, you’ll discover the best imaginative play toys that give children plenty of ways to play and use their imaginations. Indoor Imaginative Play Toys From the best play kitchens and train sets to wooden dollhouses and unique pretend play sets (like our Let's Pretend™ Pop-Ups), our parent and kid-approved imaginative toys offer screen-free playtime fun. No matter which indoor imaginary play toys you choose, your kids will enjoy exploring their curiosity and using their imaginations while playing with them – and you’ll have peace of mind knowing they’re having fun while enhancing important developmental skills in the process. Outdoor Imaginative Play Toys Some examples of imaginative play for outdoors include cloud watching, pretending they have their own house with a play tent or playhouse, and hosting an outdoor tea party that they can set up as a picnic on a blanket or on a kid’s picnic table. Get more imaginative play ideas on our blog. KidKraft has the best imaginative toys that will not only foster your child’s development, but also keep them engaged while playing. Shop our imaginative play toys for kids & toddlers and also check out our toys for active play, cognitive play, creative play, and social play.
What Is Cognitive Play?
Parenting a preschooler can feel like a crash course in childhood development…(in a good way!) You might vaguely remember learning about cognitive development and play in that Psych 101 class you took in college, but now you’re seeing it in action! Your kiddo has grown from a cooing baby to a talking toddler figuring out the world. If you’ve ever wondered what you can do to help support that rapid cognitive development, the answer is simply to help them engage in meaningful play! What Is Cognitive Development? Before we dive into the types of play that support cognitive development, it’s helpful to have a basic definition of cognitive development. In the simplest terms, cognitive development is the growth of kids’ ability to think. This encompasses their problem solving skills, their ability to use reason and logic, their ability to engage in abstract thinking. What Is Cognitive Play? The Role of Play in Cognitive Development Almost any type of child-led play can help kids’ cognitive development in some way, but when you see the term “cognitive play'', it’s likely referring to types of play that are particularly good at building kids’ problem-solving and thinking skills. Some classic examples include puzzles, building with blocks or other construction toys, and memory games. Problem-solving play can also include anything that is challenging for your toddler like dressing and undressing their dolls or figuring out how to fit all of their toys into their wagon. These activities help toddlers learn to analyze challenges and persist through trial and error. (For more ideas, see our 7 Problem-Solving Activities for Toddlers!) Language is another critical part of kids’ cognitive development. After all, we think through words, especially when we’re trying to think about more abstract concepts. A rich understanding of their language equips kids to tackle these challenges later in life! Playing, speaking, and reading with adults helps kids grow their vocabularies and intuitively understand sentence structure. It’s also important to remember that kids play in ways that may not seem like play to us, and these activities are also beneficial for cognitive development. Just as young babies can’t help but practice standing and crawling, toddler and preschoolers can’t help but practice their growing cognitive skills. When they suddenly fixate on sorting their toys by color or lining up all of their animal figurines from biggest to smallest, they’re building pre-math skills. When they’re determined to impossibly fit all of their books into their backpack, they’re building spatial reasoning. And when they simply stare at the pictures in their books, they’re often trying to retell the story to themselves, building their memory, focus, and future reading comprehension skills. In short, anytime toddlers and preschoolers truly focus on any task, it likely feels like play to them, and there is probably some form of cognitive benefit! Want more details? Check out our post on How Play Supports Cognitive Development to get brain-boosting play ideas and learn the different cognitive skills kids develop through play! Lastly, explore our entire collection of cognitive play toys perfect for cognitive development.
Shop by Skill: Cognitive Play
Cognitive play is a type of play that helps build a variety of children's cognitive skills. What are cognitive elements of play, specifically? Problem-solving, paying attention, reasoning, and remembering things they’ve learned and experienced are all important skills that are developed during cognitive play. Additional skills that are enhanced in cognitive development in play are vocabulary, language skills, perspective taking, and creativity. Believe it or not, “play” is a critical component of healthy cognitive development in kids of all ages and cognitive development toys and activities help foster these skills. What is Considered Cognitive Play? Cognitive play can include activities that challenge children to overcome obstacles, like playing on monkey bars or creating new games. It can also include activities that help children practice critical thinking skills, such as puzzles, memory games, and building blocks. Essentially, any activity that involves a challenge for kids to overcome will have cognitive benefits of play. What are the benefits of play for cognitive development? Play provides many benefits for and supports cognitive development since it engages children in activities that not only promote cognitive development but also removes barriers to cognitive development. For example, cognitive play enhances problem-solving, collaboration, mental flexibility, and creativity, all of which promote cognitive development. But this type of play also removes barriers to cognitive development like fear, anxiety, and stress. Toys and Cognitive Development There are many types of cognitive toys and activities, both indoor and outdoor, that help foster cognitive development in children. Indoor Cognitive Play Toys Activities such as board games, puzzles, and matching games help develop cognitive skills and are great indoor options. In addition to these activities, our unique kids’ pretend play sets inspire creativity, cooperation, critical thinking, and more. Outdoor Cognitive Play Toys You can also encourage cognitive play through outdoor physical activity. Swing sets and toddler climbing toys provide a foundation for a variety of play options that will offer cognitive benefits through outdoor play. We offer a variety of climbers, which provide hours of fun outdoor play (but many can also be used indoors in a playroom!). These indoor and outdoor cognitive toys will foster your child’s learning while also making playtime fun. Shop our toys for cognitive development today! To shop by other skills, check out our toys for imaginative play, active play, creative play, and social play.
Shop by Skill: Active Play
Active play is essential for kids’ physical development, helping to improve their coordination, balance, gross-motor skills, and fine-motor skills. Active play is also great for directing the natural energy of kids in a healthy way, making it beneficial for kids and parents alike! Curious about what active play in child development consists of? Active play is a type of physical play that helps children develop movement skills, confidence, and physical literacy. It’s often unplanned, self-directed, and comes naturally to kids. And, of course, it’s a ton of fun! If you’re wondering what is an example of active play, it’s hard to narrow it down since there are so many! From simply running and jumping to riding a bike and kicking a ball to building forts and climbing trees, the list is endless. And kids don’t have any trouble coming up with all kinds of active play ideas! Active Play Toys Kids & Toddlers While there are plenty of active play activities for children that don’t require anything but kids and their imaginations, there are also a variety of active play toys for preschoolers through school-aged children that provide even more active play opportunities. Whether indoors or outdoors, active play toys encourage kids to use their energy and creativity. Indoor Active Play Toys Two classic indoor active play ideas all ages will love are indoor scavenger hunts and, of course, hide-and-seek! If you’re looking for another active play idea for toddlers, KidKraft offers a variety of climbers that are perfect for toddlers to burn off their energy and can be used both inside and outside. Climbers are one of the best indoor active play toys and are sure to get plenty of use! Outdoor Active Play Toys For outdoor active play fun, you’ll find an array of swing sets, outdoor playhouses, sandboxes and more that make it easy to foster active play right in your backyard. These types of active play toys encourage kids to play outside while getting physical activity and using their imaginations. Made of durable materials, every one of our kids’ outdoor playsets and swing sets is designed to withstand years of jumping, climbing, and swinging. Discover a variety of active play toys to suit your space and budget at KidKraft. Shop our active play toys for kids &; toddlers. Whether you’re looking for a kids’ outdoor playset, other outdoor play activities, or indoor active play toys, you’ll find what you need here. We also have great toys for imaginative play, cognitive play, creative play, and social play.
