5.3 Learning to play with a friend

Learning to play with a friend

Why is this important?
Social play is an important part of children learning to become sociable and
develop friendships (i.e. realising that they are not alone in their
environment – there are other people with feelings, needs and wants too!).
Children increase in communicative confidence as new skills are practised
by watching and playing with others in a relatively safe/familiar
environment. Social play is key to social and emotional development.

What to do
• Engage two children in identical play at a table or on the floor. Activities could be
drawing, sticking, puzzles.
• Build a tower where both children have some bricks and take turns to put one on
the tower. Start by guiding the activity and slowly move away to enable the children to continue.
• Equipment that requires two children (e.g. see-saws/double swings) are useful, as are toys that require ‘help’ (e.g. pushing each other in a car).
• Play hide-and-seek or ball games.