What type of play involves children playing in organized groups with a common purpose?

Cooperative play is characterized by children engaging in group activities where they collaborate towards a shared goal or purpose. In this type of play, children often take on specific roles and work together, negotiating their interactions and coordinating their actions to achieve a common objective, such as building a structure, playing a game, or creating a story. This form of play not only fosters social skills, such as teamwork and communication, but also promotes problem-solving and creativity as children navigate their individual contributions to the group's efforts.

In contrast to cooperative play, associative play involves children playing alongside each other and exchanging toys or materials but without a formal organization or specific shared goal. Onlooker play describes a stage where a child observes others playing without participating themselves, while solitary play is when a child plays alone, fully absorbed in their activity without interacting with peers. Understanding the distinction between these types of play is crucial in recognizing the developmental stages of children's social interactions.