ABSTRACT
K.H. Rubin edited an excellent short collection which overviewed play research with children. D.J. Pepler and Rubin edited an interesting and argumentative series of articles on children's play, and Rubin, G.G. Fein and Vandenberg provide a very thorough review of the whole topic. Schaefer and O'Connor edited a comprehensive sourcebook of research and practice with play therapy. The forms of play, and characteristic use of play materials in young children, were documented by child psychologists in the USA, Britain, Germany and elsewhere in the 1920's and 1930's. Rough-and-tumble play, or play fighting and chasing, is quite common in preschool children and through up to adolescence. Despite the more cautious view of J. Piaget, the 'textbook' view of play has become that it is unquestionably important if not essential for children's learning. A specialised application of free play is play therapy with disturbed children.
