Parallel Play is the fourth and perhaps best-known stage in the sociologist Mildren Parten’s, ‘Six Stages of Play’ Theory which appears in children between about three and a half and four years of age. It is the first of the ‘social’ stages in the theory.
It describes the play of children who are physically close to each and may be playing more or less the same thing, in more or less the same space, with more or less the same toys and materials, and using more or less the same narrative or story line – yet they are still not playing directly together. Think of it as a halfway house between non-social play and social play.
Seeing children playing back-to-back while in this stage is very common and, even though they may appear unaware of each other (at least on a surface level), there can be conflict over materials during this stage because on some level they actually are aware of each other and what they are doing – which might lead one child to feel that there is an easy to hand extra stock of materials to add to their playing just behind them.
Originally, it was felt that the various stages in the theory were progressive and once passed through were abandoned, yet modern views on the idea recognises that not only is Parallel Play something that children of all ages engage in, but that it can involve pairs and small groups of children as well as single players.
It may be that younger children use Parallel Play as a trransision from non-social to social play yet that is clearly not the case with older children who might play in this way.
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See also the Six Stages of Play Theory, Mildred Parten, Unoccupied Play, Solitary Play, Onlooker Play, Associative Play, and Cooperative Play
