How Play Is Different for Different Ages

Watching children can give us a sense of the ways in which play changes and expands.

Children over the age of five continue to enjoy dramatic play, sometimes inventing elaborate games that continue for days or weeks. They may also use puppets or paper cutouts to enact stories or put on simple plays (which occasionally go on for a longer time than adult audiences might wish!). In their play they become everything from astronauts to ballerinas.

Children in our care have the same need as we did to explore their world through trying on different roles. Unfortunately, today's children face more obstacles than we did to spontaneous dramatic experiences as a result of television, video games and, to some extent, computers. Children also receive numerous messages about what is "cool" or what is acceptable behavior. These messages are transmitted through the media and through their peer groups.

Unlike the preschool years, school-age children are far more sensitive to the cues of their peers and begin developing patterns of acceptance or rejection that will carry through to adolescence (Bee, 1995). Children become more aware of acceptable norms regarding language, clothes and play activities. School-age care providers, should provide opportunities for the children in care to create their own dramatic play and replace some of these imposed images. We need to develop an environment in which dramatic play is acceptable and child-driven.

In the context of dramatic play, cognitive and social development become very important. Cognitively, between the ages of seven and eight, children are developing the ability to understand logical principles. This has a profound impact on their understanding of the world, societal roles and their place within. Signs of their growth include gains in their ability to conceptualize abstract situations, their understanding of how the world works, the effect of their behaviors on others and, most significantly, their ability to use language to report this learning. During this period, children begin to enjoy words, word games, puns, jokes and riddles. These language skills will develop as a result dramatic play experiences.

Related Training:
The Empowerment of Play for the School-Age Child - 3 hours
Planning Activities for School Age Care - 2.5 hours
Ages and Stages of Child Development  (2 hours / .2 CEU)