We’ve all been there: Your 12 month old is in a highchair and continues to drop her bowl to the floor over and over again. You wouldn’t be alone in thinking, “Just quit it already!” What you might not realize is that you’re asking your infant to go against a very deep urge she is having, and it is only an uphill battle trying to change it. What she’s experiencing is a play schema.

“Play schema” refers to the urges children have while they play. Child development researcher Jean Piaget identified play schemas as part of the stages of development that children go through. Play schemas are one of the ways children test and re-test their theories about the world. Think about the child that just can’t resist throwing a toy across the room or the child that is climbing on top of the table—they’re experiencing specific schemas that are influencing how they want to engage with the world around them.

Play schemas are one of the ways children test and re-test their theories about the world.

Cluing into the types of schemas your child is having can help you plan their play in really meaningful ways, while also harnessing their energy safely. It also can help you avoid those frustrating situations where it feels like your child just absolutely refuses to listen. If you can identify the urge they’re having you can provide a safe situation for them to fulfill it in, for example, going outside to climb a tree rather than climb on the coffee table, or providing them with a soft beanbag they can throw, rather than a block.

Here are play schemas you might recognize in your child and ways to engage them in that schema.

Orientation is all about changing your point of view.

• What it might look like:
• Hanging upside down
• Climbing under a table or chairs
• Climbing on top of a piece of furniture

New idea to try:

• Tape a large piece of paper to the underside of a table and invite your child to draw on it

Positioning is all about arranging things in a specific way.

What it might look like:

• Lining up cars, animals, or other toys
• Stacking objects
• Straightening rows of shoes

New idea to try:

• Use painters tape to create different shapes on the table or floor and provide different blocks or toys that can be arranged along the tape

Connection is all about joining materials together and taking them apart.

What it might look like:

• Connecting train or car tracks
• Connecting legos pieces
• Attaching things with a string

New idea to try:

• Playing with magnets on the fridge

Trajectory is all about moving objects around.

What it might look like:

• Knocking down blocks
• Dropping things
• Throwing things
• Fake explosions

New idea to try:

• Make paper airplanes and throw them from different heights

Enclosure is all about filling space with objects or materials.

What it might look like:

• Filling cups with water, sand, or other materials
• Climbing into boxes
• Squeezing into tight spaces
• Building walls/fences around toy animals or people

New idea to try:

• Save cardboard boxes from deliveries to use to build forts, tunnels, cars, whatever your child decides

Transporting is all about the urge to carry many things from one place to another, whether in your hands or in a bucket.

What it might look like:

• Filling a bucket or basket to carry
• Filling and dumping pockets
• Filling dump trucks, wagons, or other wheeled device

New idea to try:

• Bring a basket or wagon to the park for your child to fill and move around

Enveloping is all about wrapping yourself or others up in paper, fabric, or something else.

What it might look like:

• Wearing a sheet or other fabric over your head
• Wrapping toys in paper or tape
• Burying items in the sand
• Building a fort
• Hide and seek

New idea to try:

• Provide your child with loose fabrics of different sizes so they can wrap themselves, dolls, or stuffed animals up

Rotation is about anything that goes around in a circle—wheels, knobs, tops, etc.

What it might look like:

• Watching the washing machine
• Spinning around in a circle
• Using a water wheel with sand or water

New idea to try:

• Bring cars or balls to the park with you and send them down the slide

Transformation is all about watching how things change and testing out cause and effect.

What it might look like:

• Mixing paint or other colorful materials
• Combining water and sand
• Playing with the food on your plate
• Dressing and undressing baby dolls

New idea to try:

• Using different materials to mix potions (for example: soap, water, food coloring, sand, etc.)

For anyone that spends time with young children, a familiarity with play schemas is an awesome tool to have in your toolbelt. It’s not an enjoyable experience for anyone to continuously say “no” or be told “no”. Play schemas allow you to recognize the need a child is having and try to brainstorm a better way for them to satisfy it. You and your child will both have more fun.

Find a high-quality play-based child care or preschool program near you.