This study investigated the premise that action, manifested here through pretend play, is a semiotic arena that can enhance narrative development. It was hypothesized that children would produce structurally more complex narratives in play-prompted elicitation than in direct elicitation conditions, and that this competence would increase with age.…

This study evaluated behavioral skills training with added in situ training for teaching safety skills to prevent gun play. Following baseline, each child received two sessions of behavioral skills training and one in situ training session. Additional in situ training sessions were conducted until the child exhibited the safety skills (don't touch…

Research has shown that children often engage in gun play when they find a firearm and that this behavior is often involved in unintentional firearm injuries. Previous research has shown existing programs to be ineffective for teaching children safety skills to reduce gun play. This study examined the effectiveness of a behavioral skills training…

The purpose of this study was to examine how total duration of social play of preschool children with disabilities varied as a function of both chronological and developmental age of their social partners. Fifty-five 33- to 60-month-old children with mild to moderate developmental delays were observed in dyadic play situations with four different…

The authors investigated relations between mother-infant dyadic coordination and infants' physiological responses. Mothers (N=73) and 3-month-old male and female infants were observed in the still-face paradigm, and mothers' and infants' affective states were coded at 1-s intervals. Synchrony and levels of matching between mother-infant affective…

Past research with 152 preschoolers found that having an imaginary companion or impersonating an imaginary character was positively correlated with theory of mind performance. Three years later, 100 children from this study were retested to assess the developmental course of play with imaginary companions and impersonation of imaginary characters…

In this sample of 66 dual-earner mothers and fathers and their 1-year-old infants, associations among parental ratings of infant difficulty, parental perceived control over caregiving outcomes, and parental sensitive and directive behavior were examined during a triadic free-play session in the home. Perceived infant difficulty was related to…

Fifty-six children were observed longitudinally from 18 to 30 months of age interacting with their mothers during a Communication Play that contained 8 scenes designed to encourage interacting, requesting, commenting, and narrating. Of primary concern was how often symbols infused the child's states of engagement with people and objects and how…

This study examined the relation of visual self-recognition to personal pronoun use and pretend play. For a longitudinal sample (N66) at the ages when self-recognition was emerging (15, 18, and 21 months), self-recognition was related to personal pronoun use and pretend play such that children showing self-recognition used more personal pronouns…

Cross-situational continuity and change in anxious solitary girls' behavior and peer relations were examined in interactions with familiar versus unfamiliar playmates. Fourth-grade girls (N=209, M age 9.77 years, half African American, half European American) were identified as anxious solitary or behaviorally normative using observed and…

This pilot study is an exploratory investigation into the effectiveness of the routine and systematic use of a specific play intervention common in many mainstream early years settings meeting the needs of children with autistic spectrum disorders. The intervention, known locally as Tabletop Identiplay, combines the use of a play script with adult…

The influence of older peers on younger children's emerging symbolic play was examined for 24 young children in eight participating long-day child-care centres. Toddler participants (aged from 17 to 31 months) were observed and video-taped in three conditions in free play in the outdoor environment as follows: condition one, with their same-age…

This article deals with playthings and equipment that encourage child initiated play. Physical objects refer to concrete items within the play setting, such as balls, bats, craft supplies, playground equipment, musical instruments, and so forth. Social objects are other people, such as leaders, friends, teachers, and other participants. People are…

The purpose of this paper is to present data demonstrating the differential pattern of association among play behaviors and developmental age that emerge for children with and without mental retardation across play situations. Seventeen preschool children with mental retardation and 17 preschool children without mental retardation were matched on…

Studies indicate that young children's literacy learning can be promoted in a play setting. Literacy interactions, strategies, and activities in the children's play environment can facilitate their acquisition of literacy. In literacy-related play experiences, children select and utilize their abilities that are essential for literacy learning in…