ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author takes issue with White's assumption that there is little benefit in young children and adults playing together, and that adult participation in play is likely to be a 'manipulation' by an 'outsider' who is 'too central from a dialogic point of view' and likely to 'shut down dialogue'. He argues for participation by an adult who intends to create more 'dialogic' meaning-making with children than is likely when children pretend alone. People make meaning socially in dialogic interactions. The author explores some of the advantages and challenges of adults' dialogic dramatic playing with children. Experiences across spaces in a real-and-imagined universe entered through dramatic playing can feel as real as everyday life. The author conceptualizes exchanges between people over time as moving back-and-forth on a continuum: as people interact in social situations the meaning each person makes may become more dialogic or more monologic, whether or not they are pretending.
