Game & game development – What can a child do at what age?

The play development of children from 1 year to 7 years old. Playing is very important in the development of the child. Various situations and skills are practiced through play, both motor, cognitive and social. What should a child be able to do at toddler, preschool or primary school age? This article provides an overview of the normal (average) course of play development, the play skills, drawing or drawing skills and the way of playing of the young child.

Development profile game

This article provides a detailed overview of the play development of children from 1 year to 7 years old, which is an overview of the average age at which children (should) be able to master certain skills in terms of play and play. However, it must be explicitly stated that in practice there are always individual differences, in terms of pace of development, sequence of phase steps, the child’s own capabilities, but also environmental factors. The extent to which a child is stimulated by the environment, parents, daycare, creche, school, etc. is an important factor. The overview below gives an idea of what the average age is at which children should be able to master certain things in the field of play and games, related to the average or normal development. The overview can be seen as a guideline in following and observing the normal play development of children.

In Game Development Child – Signals of Developmental Problems you can read what signals there are to detect any delays in playing, i.e. game development, and to identify any developmental problems or disorders.

Phases of Game Game Development – How does a child play at the age of 1 month – 8 years?

Age Stage Child	Play development phases Child – Development Game and Play from 1 to 2 years
1st year	No structuring manipulation with blocks; pushing, throwing, etc., practicing motor functioning
	Drawing – Motor practice:
Up to 8 months	Aspect of motor practice
From 8 months	Accidental scratches, necessary to stimulate fine eye-hand coordination
2nd year	Constructive play, mainly exploratory, experimenting: filling and emptying, fitting and matching (motor functional character)
	Drawing – The Fist Grip :
	Draws using shoulder movements, with the elbow moving outwards and inwards

Age Stage Child	Play development phases Child – Development Game and Play from 2 to 3 years
2 – 3 years	Linear stage:
	Can place blocks in rows and stacks
	The child can string beads
	Can lay simple insert figures
	Only imitates what it sees, not things it remembers
	Play with other children mainly in parallel, not together
	Pattern stage: the blocks are placed in 2-dimensional patterns
	Drawing – The Scribble Stage:
	Palm grip develops
	Can imitate vertical and circular scratches

Age Stage Child	Play development phases Child – Development Game and Play from 3 to 4 years
3 – 4 years	Can build in 3-dimensional patterns
	Child can name his own building
	Is interested in combining game materials
	Beginning of ordering, experiencing differences
	Imitation starts to play a role; child builds his world in the imitative game
	Can participate in simple group games
	Function play continues in the form of increasing motor skills (driving and sliding material)
	Drawing – The Klieder Stage:
	Primitive shapes appear in the scribble
	Pincer grip develops
	Makes fewer large arm movements
	Can draw a circle
	Can name separate body parts

Age Stage Child	Play development phases Child – Development Game and Play from 4 to 5 years
4 – 5 years	Can only play outside and also plays with other children
	Can submit to simple rules of the game
	Organizing game materials is expanding
	Imitation play continues in fantasy play, which exhibits greater dynamics and in which life experiences are relived and processed
	Clear increase in the constructive use of materials
	Necessary world view present to engage in world play. The main interest here is animals
	Drawing – Design Phase:
	Development of the preferred hand
	Draws koppoters (kopvoeters) with more and more detail
	Draws simple, but recognizable figures, such as animal, house, tree, etc
	Some letter shapes are recognizable in scribbles
	Can draw a cross
	Can name drawings

Age Stage Child	Play development phases Child – Development Game and Play from 5 to 6 years
5 – 6 years	The child enjoys cutting and pasting and working on a certain ‘project’
	Can easily finish something once started, even if it takes a few days
	The period of the relatively greatest concentration (attention span in world play min. 45′, max. 135′)
	Plays a lot in groups of 2 to 5 children; friendships begin to develop
	Buildings become recognizable, have a name and are integrated into the game pattern
	Constructive play, in the sense of making objects yourself
	In world play more interest in houses and trees
	Signs – Phase of Syncretism:
	Elements that do not belong together are linked together, but the intention is clear
	Learns to ‘write’ own name and simple 3 or 4 letter words without copying

Age Stage Child	Play development phases Child – Development Game and Play from 6 to 7 years
6 – 7 years	Ideoplastic phase or schematic symbolism
	Drawing – With know how:
	Child now draws ‘what he knows’
	Draws ‘bird’s-eye views’ of houses
	Human figure gets a body (instead of a head figure)

Motor development – What can a child do at what age?
Social Development – What can a child do at what age?
Speech-language development – What can a child do at what age?
Development of Self-reliance Child – What at what age?
Child Game Development – Signs of Developmental Problems

Development profile game

Phases of Game Game Development – How does a child play at the age of 1 month – 8 years?

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