Once I observed a group of children engaged in superhero play. 'Superman' was encouraging the 'baddies' to attack him, but the sight of his playmates charging across the grass prompted a change of heart and he suddenly called out, 'Hold on. One at a time!'
The incident raises important questions about aggression in children's play. Were the 'baddies' being aggressive? Was 'Superman' afraid? Or was the incident part of a well-ordered game, in which a speedy rule change left no one feeling threatened? More broadly, when and why are children aggressive in their play, and how should adults respond?
Jennie Lindon (2001) identifies two areas of aggressive play:
- Rough and tumble, a form of energetic play in which children use some of their physical skills, and which may involve an adult;
- Play fighting, a play activity usually favoured by boys and in which close physical contact and struggles are integrated into the children's play schemes.
'Aggressive' play causes unease in many early years settings, however. Female practitioners often struggle to understand it and intervene crossly to halt it, while some settings have banned play involving guns or other weapons - a move stemming largely from media coverage of the innocent victims of violence.
When considering aggression in children's play, practitioners need to recognise that:
- it is natural for boys to favour aggressive forms of play and to enjoy being superheroes;
- fantasy play offers children an invaluable means through which they can explore life's experiences and emotions - pleasant as well as unpleasant - in a safe and familiar environment;
- very young children do not have moralistic views on aggression as adults have, and need to use their play to express their emotions and deal with problems;
- like so much in role play, aggression is a preparation for adulthood, and many apparently aggressive situations between two men have been shown to be the basis of 'male bonding'. It is nature's way of dealing with the strengths and weaknesses of those who work, play and learn together;
- if children are banned from using weapons, they usually resort to using other objects to represent weapons, such as their fingers to represent guns.
FOR REAL
One problem for early years practitioners is how to tell 'play' and 'real' fighting apart. The movies provide a useful reference point.
When we watch a movie, we are seeing fighting scenes that are well choreographed. The same happens in play fighting. The moves and noises of the players take the form of an intricate dance, with dialogue and sound effects. The play is intermingled with speech, sometimes imitating famous figures from children's adventure tales, such as pirates and film characters.
Real fighting, by comparison, is chaotic, with little or no dialogue. The children communicate verbally only to get attention.
Penny Tassoni (1999) has suggested that boys need to be moved from posturing with weapons and hero costumes into play scenarios to broaden their play.
From my experience, I have found that allowing the choreographed, imaginative play has not encouraged real aggressive or violent play.
By recognising it as role play and adding rules of fairness, I have seen that the play becomes ordered and less aggressive, often moving away from this form to become more constructive.
If the activity interferes with other groups of children, again rules of fairness can be used to move the play fighting to an area where it can be played out safely.
This is an approach advocated by the American educationalist Vivien Gussin Paley, who in her classroom viewed superhero play as explorations of concepts such as big and little, strong and weak, good and bad. Far from stopping such play, she set the children rules for pretend fighting (see box).
Of course, aggressive play needs to be monitored. Practitioners should be alert to instances of real aggression, its underlying causes, such as domestic violence, and the need, perhaps, for other staff or other agencies to intervene.
But perhaps what matters most is that practitioners, as Gussin Paley reminds us, should 'never confuse the fantasy role a child takes and the personality of the child'.
Elaine Lee is a freelance NVQ assessor and tutor in Essex
INFORMATION
- Penny Holland (1999) 'Is "zero tolerance" intolerance?', Early Childhood Practice: the Journal for Multi-Professional partnerships, vol 1, no 1
- Jennie Lindon (2001) Understanding Children's Play. Cheltenham, Nelson Thornes
- Penny Tassoni (1999), Diploma in Pre-school Practice (Heinemann)
- Confident, capable and creative: supporting boys' achievement - Guidance for practitioners in the Early Years Foundation Stage can be downloaded at www.standards.dfes.gov.uk
- 'A long, hard look', on Vivian Gussin Paley's life and work by Ruth Thomson (Nursery World, 15 December 2005)
- Paley, Vivian Gussin (2004) A Child's Work: The importance of fantasy play; (1998) Bad Guys Don't Have Birthdays: Fantasy play at four (Chicago, University of Chicago Press)
LINKS TO EYFS GUIDANCE
- PR 2.3 Supporting Learning
- EE 3.2 Supporting Every Child
- L&D 4.1 Play and Exploration
- L&D 4.2 Active Learning.
