Play Types
There are many different types of play that take place in different settings.
These ‘Play Types’ are described in A Playworker’s Taxonomy of Play Types, 1996
Published by Bob Hughes
- Symbolic play
- Rough and tumble play
- Socio-dramatic play – playing house
- Social play – games
- Creative play – materials and tools
- Communications play – words, jokes, acting
- Dramatic play – dramatises events in which the child is a spectator
- Deep play – risky experiences, conquers fear, riding a bike – teaches about how to handle risks
- Exploratory play – manipulating, exploring
- Fantasy play – rearranges the world in the child’s way
- Imaginative play – pretending
- Locomotor play – chase, swinging, climbing
- Mastery play – lighting fires, digging holes, complex games
- Object play – hand-eye coordination, painting
- Role play – ways of being, driving a car
Any play project – a playground or a play scheme, should try to have as many of these play types as possible.
Rough and tumble play is very important for the development of empathy skills in boys especially and in their ability to handle stress and aggression.