Unoccupied Play is the first stage in the sociologist Mildren Parten’s, ‘Six Stages of Play’ Theory which occupies children between birth and about three months of age.
At this stage, very young children may or may not be on their own but are playing on their own in a non-social way without reference to any other children and even apparently unaware of the presense of others.
They may be playing with an object they’ve found or some aspects of the environment like a light reflecting on the floor, for example, but are easily distracted by another object or element of the environment – a lack of focus is one of the key characteristics of this stage.
Originally it was felt that this is the form of play that most occupies children between birth and around three months of age after which it develops into the next stage and more or less disappears, but modern views of the theory are not so rigid in this thinking.
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See also the Six Stages of Play Theory, Mildred Parten, Solitary Play, Onlooker Play, Parallel Play, Associative Play, and Cooperative Play
