Definition (1):
The play stage is the second of three stages of childhood socialization described by George Herbert Mead. In this stage, the child begins to take on the role of significant others such as pretending to be his or her mother. With this behavior, the child begins to see the self as others do.
Definition (2):
Children are said to be in the play stage from around age 2 to 6. During this stage, children play pretend as the significant other and don’t stick to the rules in organized games such as freeze tag or soccer. It is much easier to simply go with any rules during the time of the game than attempting to enforce any rules upon them. It means when these children play house, they are usually pretending to be the mom or the dad that they know.
Definition (3):
“Children start role-playing and taking on the role of significant people in their lives. Children only take on one role at a time.”
Use of the term in Sentence:
- The children playing in the room are in their play stage.