A Guide to Symbolic Play: Examples and Importance
This article was originally written on www.empoweredparents.co
Symbolic play is an important milestone in young children’s play. It is a natural process that is crucial for a child’s healthy development.
Here’s what you need to know about this kind of play and how you can foster it at home or school while watching the fascinating process unfold before your eyes.
What is Symbolic Play?
Symbolic play is a type of play that young children engage in, where they use an object or toy to represent something else.
By definition, symbolic play involves “pretend playing” with objects or toys that are symbols representing other objects that the child needs as part of the pretend scenario.
Pretend play is similar to fantasy, imaginary, dramatic play or dress-up play.
Examples of Symbolic Play
An example of symbolic play is a block that becomes the phone used to call the fire brigade.
Here are some more symbolic play examples:
A cart becomes a shopping trolley when playing shop
A small milk carton becomes a toadstool
Some chairs and a blanket are transformed into a tent
Lego bricks become cars
A box becomes a boat
A skipping rope becomes a fireman’s hosepipe
Symbolic play toys can, therefore, take the form of any kind of object, toy or waste material. The only limit to what can be used is imagination.
What is the Difference Between Symbolic Play and Pretend Play?
While symbolic play and pretend play are similar, some theorists use pretend play as the term to describe symbolic play and functional play together.
Functional play is pre-symbolic and refers to a child using an object appropriately and in a conventional way.
For example, a child who picks up a toy phone puts it to his ear and jabbers away is engaging in functional play, whereas a child who picks up a block or other object and holds it to his ear has moved onto symbolic play.
Most agree that symbolic play is when there is clearly an object standing in for another object. It also applies when a child pretends that an absent object is present (e.g. pretending to hold a phone but holding nothing).
When Does Symbolic Play Emerge?
Functional, or pre-symbolic play, usually begins to emerge late in the first year of life, between 8 and 11 months of age.
The first stage of symbolic play in children then begins at around 11-12 months. It becomes more involved and advanced from the age of two. [source]