Developmental Stages of Early Play 018 months
0-6 months
Receptive sensory experiences and early movement
Looking, listening, tracking with eyes, reaching, touching, knocking
mobiles, reaching for wanted items with increasing purposefulness
and holding in hand.
Early interaction – eye contact, smiling, anticipating peek a boo,
copying exaggerated faces pulled.
6-9 months
Active sensory exploration play (object and me/what does this
do?)
Grabbing, tasting, everything to mouth, shaking, banging, throwing,
and dropping, banging two items together, pulls scarf off for peek a
boo, knocks down towers, looks at mirrors, reaches towards bubbles,
pushes a button on cause and effect toy to deliberately activate an
effect, turns pages of a board book, pulls things out – ie pulling
pieces out of an inset puzzle or pegs out of a peg board to get the
item.
Movement – emerging sitting, reaching, holding and grasping,
dropping, transferring from hand to hand, rolling, crawling
Interaction – stronger anticipation, vocalising, eye contact,
physically cueing adult to do something again, reaching to request
12 months
Object to object play stage one - (undoing, exploring the
relation of one object to another – the unpacking the saucepan
cupboard stage!)
Child now has independent mobility and can freely use two hands.
Taking items out of an open container, removing pieces from puzzles
continuing until all pieces gone, tipping items out of a container,
removing rings from a post, uses a hammer to bang pegs, a stick to
bang a drum or a xylophone, makes early mark on paper with a crayon
or pencil.
Functional symbolic recognition – ie recognises real objects for their
functional purpose and will put a real hairbrush to their hair, a
toothbrush to their mouth, a cup to their mouth, etc. Attention up
to the 12 month stage is involuntary and based on being captured by
an interesting stimulus.
12-15 months
Object to object stage 2, object to a target on the second
object (purposeful relating of one object to another for a
purpose)
Completing a one piece inset board (ie puts the piece in the hole and
persists until it fits rather than just laying it on top), putting items
in a container, pouring items from container to container, putting
pegs in large holes, stacking one item on top of another, putting rings
on a post, posting balls into holes.
Recognises toys as representing the real objects and will use them
for their right purpose, ie will push a car along the floor and make
brrmm noises, put a toy phone to their ear, will put a brush to their
hair, put a toy cup to their mouth, make a toy dinosaur roar, hug a
doll.
Can point to some named body parts – eyes, nose, hair etc.
12 months – 2 years attention – single channelled, can concentrate on
a concrete activity of their choosing (interesting to them) but has to
block out all other stimuli in order to do it and may appear to ignore
adult talking to them.
15-18 months
Differentiated object to object – object to one specific target
among several.
Object now has to go to one specific position on the receiving object
and be made to fit when there is more than one place it might go:
this is the first stage of learning to use trial and error. This stage
also involves learning to follow all the steps of a sequence in order
and persist until the activity is complete, for example posting balls in
holes until all the balls are gone, putting two different shaped
pieces into a two piece inset board, trying first one hole and then
the other if unsuccessful until both are seated, completing a two
piece shape sorter (ball and one other shape) using trial and error,
putting peg men in holes and continuing until all holes full. Stacking 3
brick tower. The child is learning at this stage to continue the steps
to finish the sequence rather than partially do and then undo as at
the earlier stage when they are just exploring how one object
relates to the other.
Starts to relate one object to another object in symbolic play – will
brush a doll’s hair, put a doll in a car and push the car along, put the
doll to bed and cover her up etc. Can play a rolling ball game with an
adult.
1 key word understanding achieved.
18 months
3 piece plus shape sorters, 3 piece plus inset boards, stacking 3 plus
bricks, moving on to early sorting and matching. Child recognises
small world play items and begins to relate them to each other.
Starts to use several different appropriate symbolic actions when
playing, ie pretending to pour a cup of tea, stirring it, pretending to
drink.
2 years 3 months
Picture matching
2 key word comprehension