They may push a baby on a swing or cheer its first awkward steps. Children's responses regulate the adult's actions. If the swing is pushed too high, a child's cries will guide the adult toward a gentler approach. In interactions with adults such as peekaboo, children learn to take turns, act with others, and engage others in play. As children develop the ability to represent experience symbolically, pretend play becomes a prominent activity.
Action plans are blueprints for the ways in which actions and events are related and sequenced.
Family-related themes in action plans are popular with young children, as are action plans for treating and healing and for averting threats. Roles are identities children assume in play. For example, taking a trip requires passengers and a driver. Family roles such as mother, father and baby are popular, and are integrated into elaborate play with themes related to familiar home activities. Children also assume stereotyped character roles drawn from the larger culture, such as nurse, and fictional character roles drawn from books and television, such as He-Man.