TY - JOUR
T1 - Toddlers' emerging symbolic play
T2 - A first-born advantage?
AU - Kowalski, Helen S.
AU - Wyver, Shirley R.
AU - Masselos, Grace
AU - De Lacey, Philip
PY - 2004
Y1 - 2004
N2 - The influence of older peers on younger children's emerging symbolic play was examined for 24 young children in eight participating long-day child-care centres. Toddler participants (aged from 17 to 31 months) were observed and video-taped in three conditions in free play in the outdoor environment as follows: condition one, with their same-age peers; condition two, with their older, preschool-aged peers; and condition three, in a dyad situation with a familiar often 'self-chosen' preschool-aged peer. Fourteen of the participants were first-borns and 10 were later-borns. The toddlers' symbolic play was coded in the four dimensions of symbolic play ('decontextualization', 'thematic content', 'organization of themes', and 'self-other relationships') in accordance with Westby's (1991) 'Symbolic play scale'. First-born participants exhibited higher levels of symbolic play in all four dimensions as identified by Westby (1991) in mixed-age free play sessions. Additionally, in mixed-age free play, first-borns scored significantly higher in three dimensions in the most frequently occurring levels of symbolic play than did later-born participants.
AB - The influence of older peers on younger children's emerging symbolic play was examined for 24 young children in eight participating long-day child-care centres. Toddler participants (aged from 17 to 31 months) were observed and video-taped in three conditions in free play in the outdoor environment as follows: condition one, with their same-age peers; condition two, with their older, preschool-aged peers; and condition three, in a dyad situation with a familiar often 'self-chosen' preschool-aged peer. Fourteen of the participants were first-borns and 10 were later-borns. The toddlers' symbolic play was coded in the four dimensions of symbolic play ('decontextualization', 'thematic content', 'organization of themes', and 'self-other relationships') in accordance with Westby's (1991) 'Symbolic play scale'. First-born participants exhibited higher levels of symbolic play in all four dimensions as identified by Westby (1991) in mixed-age free play sessions. Additionally, in mixed-age free play, first-borns scored significantly higher in three dimensions in the most frequently occurring levels of symbolic play than did later-born participants.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84875346659&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/0300443032000153435
DO - 10.1080/0300443032000153435
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84875346659
VL - 174
SP - 389
EP - 400
JO - Early Child Development and Care
JF - Early Child Development and Care
SN - 0300-4430
IS - 4
ER -