ABSTRACT
We dedicate a separate chapter to children’s play because we think it represents the quintessential developmental activity. Play is what young children do, and in some ways play sets off childhood from later developmental periods. Indeed, some scholars in the area of animal behavior consider all activities that juveniles engage in play (see Fagen, 1981, 1998, for reviews)! Consequently, observations of children at play provide the investigator with insight into child competence in a number of areas (e.g., communication skills, role taking, cooperation, motor coordination). As noted in our chapter on development, however, play can be viewed as an imperfect version of mature behaviors that must be learned.
