Play - Stage 1

Children use play in all areas of their development.  Play requires children to use combinations of sights and sounds and incorporate them while moving their bodies.  Children also need to be able to have a variety of activities to do and be able to share their play with others.   

Click on the slider above to see how children naturally progress through the developmental stages of Play.

Typical activities in this stage

•  Shows momentary attention to colorful books and shapes

•  Moves hands, kicks feet and smiles when hearing nursery rhymes and familiar songs

 •  Enjoys soothing, tactile stimulation

•   Smiles at a smiling face

•   Shows enjoyment with a social game, such as peek-a-boo

•   Reaches out to familiar people



Child reaching for mobile

Play - Stage 1

To help your child reach this milestone, here are some activities

•   Introduce storytime during your day 

•   Play social games, such as peek-a-boo

•   Respond to your child when they look at you and/or smile at you

•   Talk to your child throughout the day, and imitate the sounds that they make

•   Respond to your child when they make sounds



It's time to move onto the next stage when your child is 

•   Looking at pictures in a book

•   Participating in peek-a-boo

•   Catching someone’s eye and smiling at them to initiating an interaction

•   Imitating sounds

•   Attending to the actions of older children

•   Making noises to gain attention of others

•   Laughing at other children doing funny things