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1. Children in the First Year
Children in the first year focus their play on exploring the environment and things around them. They pick up various objects to bite, suck, put in their mouths, or squeeze to observe the results. This is a stage of trial and error.
What parents should do is to give children the opportunity to explore and encourage them to explore on their own as much as possible, while being cautious about safety, such as dangers from playing with very small objects or putting small items in their mouths. Importantly, parents should not overly control the child&#8217;s play during this stage, as it can reduce their interest in exploration and learning. Therefore, parents should not expect formal or specific types of play that they want the child to follow too much.
2. During the Second Year
Before entering kindergarten, children&#8217;s play becomes more goal-oriented. They play with toys that have specific functions, such as shape sorters, stringing toys, or block stacking toys, which have clearer play patterns. Children at this age can learn how each toy works better than before.
What parents should do is encourage children to move their bodies more while playing because at this age, children become more agile, can start walking and climbing, and have improved short-term memory. They also imitate their parents&#8217; behaviors more, which can be easily observed when children can do some things on their own without being taught, simply by imitating what they have seen.
3. Children Aged Three and Above
At this stage, children&#8217;s play changes to include more role-playing, such as playing shopkeeper, using their imagination connected to past experiences.
What parents should do is participate in promoting the child&#8217;s learning and development in language use, including forming continuous sentences and engaging in more question-and-answer interactions. Therefore, play is no longer solitary but involves interaction with the environment and others. This is an ideal stage to promote good language skills in children.
4. Kindergarten Age
When children enter kindergarten, they begin to join social groups of peers with similar ages. Their play becomes more social, learning to wait, share, follow rules, and understand winning and losing, such as sharing toys, imitating each other, talking with peers, and learning social skills like self-discipline and taking responsibility for small tasks like packing their bags.
What parents should do is help children control their emotions alongside play because at this age, children express their feelings clearly, start to refuse, reason, and argue. Sometimes group play leads to conflicts, fights over toys, and inability to solve problems on the spot, which parents should pay attention to.
The important thing about play is not to expect too much from the outcome, such as playing correctly or winning against friends. Instead, focus on the learning process during play and emotional involvement, problem-solving skills like how to invite friends to continue building blocks or how to build a tall tower. Parents can also introduce more challenging play, such as asking if the child can build a 10-story building, which helps children concentrate and stay engaged in play longer.
Therefore, besides observing and learning about your child&#8217;s play patterns appropriate to each age, parents should also emphasize the relationship during play between parent and child. This is crucial for increasing the child&#8217;s participation in play with parents and fostering endless learning development.
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Khun Puchit Foonchomchoey
Occupational Therapist 
Child and Adolescent Health Center, Phyathai 2 Hospital

Children at different ages have different ways of playing with toys. This depends on the child's age and physical readiness at that time, which includes the readiness of both large muscle groups and small muscle groups, as well as development.

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