Child’s Play Is More Than Simple Fun

Children’s games, stories and slang contribute to the cultural landscape, say researchers

Three toddler girls sitting together outside. The child on the right is staring at the palm of her hand. very close to one another.

This is a summary of a story written on Trinity College of Arts & Sciences.

A recent study challenges long-prevailing views about what constitutes “child’s play.”

The researchers found that youngsters interacting with their peers are not merely indulging in child’s play. They are transmitting knowledge and information to one another while forming traditions that can last for generations.

The study, co-authored by Dorsa Amir, Duke assistant professor of psychology and neuroscience, and Sheina Lew-Levy, an associate professor of psychology at Durham University in the United Kingdom, asserts that children are not merely sponges passively absorbing knowledge from grownups during their formative years.

Instead, Amir and Lew-Levy found that children are “active cultural producers” capable of innovations and practices that help communities adapt to social and environmental change, and “even influence the broader cultural landscape during moments of upheaval.”

“Children’s cultures — in the rare cases they’re even acknowledged — are often seen as frivolous, or mere practice for the real work of adult culture,” Amir said. “Our research challenges that assumption, taking seriously the study of children’s cultures as valuable and foundational features of the human story.” 

The researchers show that these peer cultures — comprised of children between the ages of three to 17 — are present across cultures worldwide.

The study found that peer cultures, with their games, stories, slang and rules, along with specific information and knowledge about nature and their local environments, are creating playful innovations that may serve as significant repositories of cultural diversity.

“Our research shows that children have a huge influence on each other, and on greater society,” Lew-Levy said. “We hope that the study of children’s peer cultures can help us better recognize the unique and active role children hold in their communities.” 

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