"The 'Peak' of Pretend Play is 10-15 Minutes After Starting": How a Little Boredom Can Foster Growth - The Necessary Time for Free Play in Young Children

"The 'Peak' of Pretend Play is 10-15 Minutes After Starting": How a Little Boredom Can Foster Growth - The Necessary Time for Free Play in Young Children

The moment a child is told "Go play," they immediately start playing with full enthusiasm. We often tend to think of "playtime" with such an image. However, recent research suggests that pretend play among young children has a "run-up," and the peak of their engagement occurs 10 to 15 minutes after the start. If playtime is cut short, it might end just when it starts getting interesting.


Research Observed "Natural Play in Nursery"

The study introduced here is an observational study of pretend play by researchers from SWPS University (Poland) and Istanbul University. The key point is that it was not conducted in a "constructed environment" like a laboratory, but in the nursery environment where children usually spend their time, recording how children from the same nursery play together.


Previous studies often focused on interactions between small groups, such as two siblings or parent-child pairs. However, in real nurseries, play is more diverse, simultaneous, and involves joining and leaving. Researchers believed that clues to the development of self-regulation (the ability to adjust emotions and behavior according to the situation) could be found there.


93 Children, 30 Minutes, "Non-directive" Design

The study observed 93 children aged 3 to 6. During a 30-minute playtime, three "pretend play stations" were set up within the nursery.

  • A "Role-Playing" Corner for Costume Transformation

  • A "Construction" Corner for Building with LEGO Duplo, etc.

  • A "Kitchen" Corner with Play Dishes and Food


What's important here is that there was no prompting like "Play this way" given to the children. Adults "watched over," and children were "free." The 30 minutes were filmed, and the quality of play was analyzed from the following three perspectives.

  1. Organization: Storyline, role distribution, coherence of development

  2. Elaboration: Details of the setting, thoroughness of role-playing, creation of situations

  3. Imagination: Pretending objects, creative use of tools, expansion of fantasy

The Most Interesting Time is "10-15 Minutes Later"

The biggest discovery was that there is a rhythm to play engagement, and the activity reaches its peak not immediately after starting, but 10 to 15 minutes later. Regardless of age or gender, this "peak period" appeared consistently.


Upon reflection, this aligns with intuition. The beginning of play tends to be a time for exploration and negotiation, like "What shall we do today?" or "Can I use this?" It takes time to decide roles, gather props, set the stage, and get the story going. For adults, it's similar to the first five minutes of a meeting being spent on small talk and aligning assumptions, with the discussion finally taking off a bit later.


The research further suggested that the "form of engagement" might differ slightly between genders. Boys tended to maintain a certain level of activity until the end, while girls showed a quick rise, followed by a slight decline to a level similar to boys. In other words, the image is close to "girls have high energy from the start, and boys continue at a steady pace," but this is an average tendency, and individual differences should not be overlooked.

Girls Excel in "Story Design," Boys in "Movement"

In the three perspectives (organization, elaboration, imagination), girls generally scored higher. Particularly, attention to story structure and detailed creation stood out, with many engaging in play that involved building complex stories.

On the other hand, boys tended to focus more on play involving action and movement.


Interestingly, the smallest difference was found in imagination. This means that the ability to expand fantasies or pretend objects does not differ significantly between genders. The more noticeable differences are in "the ability to organize and manage stories" and "the ability to refine details," which could be influenced by everyday play experiences and surrounding expectations (gender norms). Instead of hastily concluding that "girls are superior" or "boys are inferior," it is more constructive to view it as a difference in areas of strength.


Age Differences: 3-Year-Olds are "Sprinters," 5-6-Year-Olds are "Endurance Runners"

Changes with age are also clear. As children grow older, their play becomes more structured, and they can maintain focus more easily.
Researchers particularly noted that ages 4-5 could be a significant milestone. At ages 3-4, children may start with enthusiasm but lose interest easily, showing signs of boredom as time passes. In contrast, 5-6-year-olds can immerse themselves from the start and might continue even beyond 30 minutes.


What's important here is that "boredom" is not a failure. Researchers view play as having a cycle of "engagement → development → exhaustion → boredom → seeking the next thing." Reaching the point of boredom might be a sign of having "fully played."


"Play is Not Useless," but Training for Self-Regulation

Researchers emphasize that pre-school education needs a balance between "learning activities" and "pretend play." In pretend play, children take on roles, adjust their behavior based on others' reactions, and sometimes endure or compromise to maintain the story. In other words, they are spontaneously practicing the basics of self-regulation required in school life.


That's why "time" becomes crucial.

If playtime is cut short, it ends just as the stage is set. If the signal to clean up comes before reaching the 10-15 minute peak, children cannot fully experience the "feeling of the story taking off." The research suggests that ensuring sufficient uninterrupted playtime is reasonable for developmental support.


Hints for "Time Design" in Childcare and at Home

Let's extract some insights from this research that can be applied in practice or at home. Note that the following are "ideas for application" based on research results and may need adjustment depending on individual children's characteristics and environments.


1) Don't Cut Playtime Too Short
If you segment it like "10 minutes of free play → next activity," it's just the "entrance to the peak" at 10 minutes. If possible, allocate a slightly longer free play period and avoid rushing the cleanup.


2) Don't Interrupt the "Start-Up" of Play
At the start, children are trying out roles, tools, and locations. If adults intervene too much with "That's not right" or "Do it this way," it becomes difficult for the play engine to start. While prioritizing safety, it's important to respect the trial and error of setting creation.


3) Connect "Boredom" to the Next Learning
Boredom is not bad. If they get bored, moving to the next play, going to another corner, or changing tools—these themselves become exercises in self-regulation. Instead of rushing to "end," adults can increase options by asking, "What will you do next?"


4) Treat Gender Differences as "Opportunities for Growth"
If girls tend to excel in story structure, provide boys with opportunities to experience the joy of building stories. If boys tend to focus on movement, provide girls with opportunities to experience the dynamism of "movement" and "creation." It's important to broaden the range of experiences without fixing differences in strengths.


SNS Reactions: "Official Announcements" Spread First, Focus of Discussion Shifts to "Time"

 

This research was also shared on social media as an official announcement from the university. In the official X (formerly Twitter) post by SWPS University, key points such as "the peak of engagement in free play is 10-15 minutes after starting" and "girls score higher in organization (coherence)" were briefly shared, serving as an entry point to the research content. Although the research paper itself is specialized, the "clarity of numbers" draws attention on social media.


Additionally, the prominent points of discussion on social media tend to divide into two major categories.

  • "Isn't Cutting Playtime Counterproductive?"
    If the peak comes at 10-15 minutes, short play periods in nurseries, extracurricular activities, and family schedules could be subject to review, posing a question.

  • "Be Cautious in Interpreting Gender Differences"
    There are concerns about expressions that tend to be interpreted as "girls are better," emphasizing the need to consider environmental factors, expectations, and individual differences. The research shows average tendencies, and labeling can be dangerous, according to reactions.


It's important to note that on social media, where key points are compressed, "peak at 10-15 minutes" can easily become isolated. What the research indicates is a "tendency for that time period to be the most engaging," not a definitive statement that "every child switches on at 10 minutes" or "reaches the peak at 15 minutes." The key point is for adults to understand that there is a "start-up time" in children's play and that there is room to be creative in time design.


Conclusion: Play is Not "Useful Later," but "Grows Here and Now"

Pretend play is not just a "warm-up" for future academic skills. The process where children take on roles, compromise with others, drive the story, and sometimes get bored and look for the next thing is at the heart of developing self-regulation and social skills.


And what the research highlights is the anxiety of adults pressed for time.


While wanting to "ensure playtime," in reality, it often gets cut short. However, children might start getting serious 10 minutes later. If there is something we can do, it might not be adding new materials, but rather protecting "uninterrupted time."


Source

Related Articles