Infant and toddler play

"Children learn through play: by doing, asking questions, interacting with others, devising theories about how things work and then trying them out and by making purposeful use of resources. As they engage in exploration, they begin to develop attitudes and expectations that will continue to influence their learning throughout life" (Te Whāriki, p. 46). 

Play is a valued part of children’s early childhood experience in Aotearoa. The centrality of play in Te Whāriki reflects a widespread belief that play provides a meaningful context for young children to explore, feel, think, imagine, and create. The curriculum emphasises play for all children that is spontaneous, meaningful, inclusive, and joyful. 

Infants and toddlers are born learners; they learn from every experience. The benefits of learning through play vary depending on the child, their approach to the play situation, their play companions, and the support they receive. Some benefits of play for infants include learning to communicate, opportunities to engage socially with others, having a go at things, and developing learning dispositions and emerging working theories as they gather information about the world. For toddlers, benefits include developing social and emotional competence, as they explore independently and with others, developing problem-solving skills, strengthening learning dispositions, and formulating and testing their working theories about their world.  

The exploration and learning that occurs through play supports infants and toddlers in developing working theories, “the evolving ideas and understandings that children develop as they use their existing knowledge to try to make sense of new experiences” (Te Whāriki, p. 23). Infants and toddlers are most likely to generate and refine working theories in learning environments where uncertainty is valued, inquiry is modelled, an appropriate level of physical risk and challenge is present, and making meaning is the goal. 

Play is a widely used term, but its meaning varies from person to person and cross-culturally. This is because people view, value, and understand play differently based on their beliefs, experiences, knowledge, and cultural orientations. For example, play is considered an important way to learn in some cultural communities, but not in others. In Māori communities, play was traditionally seen as a way of passing on knowledge of culture and language. For Pacific communities, play was traditionally viewed more as a form of recreation than for learning, although this view is changing as ideas about play for learning become more widely accepted. These varying perspectives suggest it is valuable for kaiako to have conversations about play with families.

Play for infants is initially a sensory experience, reflective of the intuitive way they learn. Mouthing, touching, and tasting is how infants explore their world in the first months of life. For the younger infant, the hands provide an intriguing ‘play object’, which is soon replaced by the whole body, then people, places, and things. These ideas suggest that infants need lots of hands-on play experiences to make sense of their worlds and relationships with peers and adults, resources, and their environment.  

To support infants’ play, kaiako need to provide environments where there is time, space, and appropriate resources for play. For very young infants this may include having safe floor spaces for infants to explore their own bodies e.g. to be able to play with their own fingers and toes and experiment with movement. Kaiako can also provide a range of safe, ‘real-world' objects for infants to explore using their senses. It is through handling and exploring these objects (also known as heuristic play) that infants begin to make their own choices and decisions about their play and to gain an understanding of the world around them. Pennie Brownlee (n.d.) reminds kaiako that: 

• “Babies are natural scientists and ‘wonderers.’ They wonder about everything, but not with their minds the way we do, their minds are in the very early stages of formation. Infants and toddlers wonder with their bodies and their senses" (p. 1).

Kaiako also need to recognise the subtle non-verbal cues that infants display as they engage in play. Recognising these cues is important; overlooking them can lead to kaiako mistakenly projecting their own assumptions and interpretations onto the child’s actions, disrupting infants’ motivations and intentions in play. 

Te Whāriki endorses the idea of ‘authentic’ play—play that is self-initiated and self-directed within a social setting. As infants grow into toddlers, they develop socially in play as they learn to be a play partner in engagement with others. Toddlers’ play often involves more complexity and challenge, such as experimentation with different materials and objects, exploring space and relationships, and trying things out. This social learning fosters ongoing development of social and emotional competence. With an increasing range of experiences, toddlers' play becomes more intentional and socially-oriented based on their developing social and emotional understandings and capabilities. 

It is not unusual to see repeated patterns of action in toddlers’ play, for example carrying things from one place to another, or throwing objects. These repeated patterns of actions, or play schema, help children learn about and understand the world around them. Play schema are characterised by involvement (being fully absorbed, focused and showing enjoyment), flow (deep engagement and immersion), and persistence (repeatedly returning to the same patterns of action). Some common schema include: 

• Trajectory – A fascination with movement, often explored through the throwing or propelling of objects.  
• Rotation and Circularity – A captivation with spinning, rolling, twisting, and rotating objects.  
• Transporting – Moving objects from one place to another, often using bags or toy vehicles.  
• Enveloping – Enjoying covering items completely or being covered or hidden oneself.  
• Enclosing – Surrounding objects by building fences, walls, or barriers.  
• Positioning or Ordering – Arranging items in specific ways or patterns, often lining them up neatly.  
• Connecting – Joining, sticking, or tying objects together.  
• Disconnecting – Taking pleasure in knocking things down or smashing them apart. 

Te Whāriki promotes play that is open, fluid, and child-led. To ensure that play is mana-enhancing, kaiako must give infants and toddlers time to develop their own working theories and work things out for themselves, while valuing their preferences for playing alone, alongside, and with others. To enhance each child’s learning through play kaiako employ different strategies and are responsive to children's interests. These strategies include to:   

• Observe infants’ and toddlers’ play with appreciation and enjoyment and use observations as an opportunity to learn about the child.   
• Respect infants’ and toddlers’ right to play and ensure time for play that is open and fluid.   
• Be responsive to infants’ and toddlers’ play needs, motivations, preferences, and interests.  
• Consider ways each child’s cultures, languages, and identities can be reflected in the play materials, play spaces, and play experiences. 
• Create spaces that invite infants and toddlers to play and engage with one another.  
• Provide opportunities for infants and toddlers to explore natural materials, including in nature and the outdoors.  
• Offer language input to support infants’ and toddlers’ developing language capabilities. 

• How do you ensure all infants and toddlers experience fair and equitable access to mana-enhancing play?  
• How effectively is the ECE setting organised to support opportunities for play for infants and opportunities for play for toddlers?   
• In what ways might kaiako show infants or toddlers that their play is valued?