Mildred Parten's Play Model

Play has been essentially described as the primary occupation of children. Within this occupation, children are given a platform to develop cognitively, physically, and most noticeable, socially. In regards to the developmental benefits of play, sociologist over the years have lent their knowledge to further analyze distinct types of play in which children engage. One such sociologist was Mildred Parten whose work on play later became a regularly cited source for the various types of play children typically engage in at various stages of development. Within her play model, Parten categorized play into the six categories of unoccupied behavior, onlooker behavior, solitary play, parallel play, associative play, and cooperative play (Text citation). In accordance with the actions and behaviors defined by Parten, children who were present at the time of the observation explicitly exhibited similar conduct.

The children at play were observed in an afterschool program at the Kehillah Jewish Community Center located in Springfield, Massachusetts. While the age range of children at this facility varies depending on the type of activity, the children

This, according to Parten meant that they were taking on roles in their personally selected groups as they strive to reach their shared goal. This type of play was more observable among male children. Within the room, there were three separate groups of male children playing together, with most of their social interaction being with their circle of friends. While their main activity was coloring, these boys were seen sharing stories and using the paper to make various items such as planes after they colored the image. More noticeable about these groups was the instantaneous moments of loud outburst (talking, laughter etc.) as they think of a new activity to do together. One such occurrence was when one group of four boys after