The Nature of Children's Play. In play, children expand their understanding of themselves and others, their knowledge of the physical world, and their ability to communicate with peers and adults. This digest discusses children's play and its relationship to developmental growth from infancy to middle childhood. The digest also suggests ways in which educators and other adults can support children's play. By 6 months of age, infants have developed simple but consistent action schemes through trial and error and much practice.
Infants use action schemes, such as pushing and grasping, to make interesting things happen.
An infant will push a ball and make it roll in order to experience the sensation and pleasure of movement. As children master new motor abilities, simple schemes are coordinated to create more complex play sequences. Older infants will push a ball, crawl after it, and retrieve it. When infants of 9 months are given an array of objects, they apply the same limited actions to all objects and see how they react. By pushing various objects, an infant learns that a ball rolls away, a bile spins, and a rattle makes noise.