Parallel Play

At around 3-4 years of age, children enter into a new stage of play where they are able to have fun alongside another child. They play side by side with other children in their own little worlds. This type of play is different to playing together because neither child tries to influence the play of the other.

Children learn a lot from one another during this type of play. It might look like they aren't paying one another any attention, however they truly are and often mimic each other's behaviour. You might see one child notice what the other child is doing, and modify their play to match.

This type of play really helps children build confidence to engage with their peers. They are still not developmentally ready to understand and join in the world outside of their home and immediate families, and so Parallel play offers a safe space to practise the skills they learned from Solitary and Onlooker Play. You might notice your child updating their reasoning skills or vocabulary as they move through this stage. They are beginning to understand the concepts of sharing, empathy, and social boundaries.

Many types of activities stem from parallel play such as drawing to playing with toy cars.

At Discovery Time, we foster this stage of development by ensuring there are lots of tools and materials available to share. The children are able to work in small groups, in pairs or alone as they choose and feel comfortable with. Children see the same peers each week for the term and so become increasingly more comfortable as they move into and through this stage of play.