Family routines provide young children with predictable, repeatable, and functional contexts for learning about the world. Participating in family routines is a critical pathway by which all children learn. While the use of family routines in caregiver-implemented interventions (CIIs) is supported by theories, research, and recommended practices,…

Surveys on leisure and recreational patterns of mentally retarded individuals were completed by 98 parents of retarded children and adults. Results are reported, along with reviews of the literature in three general headings: (1) play in mentally retarded children under 12; (2) leisure and recreation activities in mentally retarded individuals 12…

The free play behavior of young children allows the opportunity to actively explore, investigate, and manipulate features of the adult world, and to assimilate the characteristics of novel aspects of the environment. (Author)

One aspect of ethological methodology, behavioral categorization, is applied to the study of young children's social behavior in preschool classrooms. Studies are reviewed and recommendations for future use of ethological methods, with specific reference to categorizing children's play, are offered. (LB)

The biological and the cultural aspects of human play are inextricably linked and mutually influence each other. (LH)

Offers an organizational perspective designed to illuminate processes of symbolic development in both normal and abnormal populations. Focuses on the symbolic system of Down Syndrome children. Data support the claim that the symbolic system of these children is intact. (RWB)

Offering a synthesis of research and thought on the notion of newsreading as a form of play, this paper focuses on newsreading as a symbolic action of incorporating cultural attitudes by reading a newspaper. Sections of the paper discuss the following topics: (1) play, culture, and communication--defining play in its cultural and communicative…

Empirical research on the role of school recess is reviewed. Effects of child-level and school-level variables on recess behavior and the impact of recess on classroom behavior and social and cognitive competence are discussed. It is concluded that recess has important educational and developmental implications. (SLD)