Peer Relationships, Child Development, and Adjustment: A Developmental Psychopathology Perspective

and distant from their actions. Children will not only match or imitate the pretend acts of other children but also attempt to recruit the partner to join their pretend play. These efforts are not routinely successful, but it is clear that children are beginning to understand that nonliteral meanings can be shared by partners. From 21 to 24 months, children engage in similar pretend actions in the context of broader joint activity. Attempts to recruit others into pretense are more frequent and more successful. Although children organize materials for sociodramatic play, there is little or no joint organization of the pretend play itself. Scripted joint play emerges from 25 to 30 months, and the assignment of social roles in play (e.g., doctor, mother, father, police officer) emerges shortly thereafter, from 31 to 36 months. At this point, children understand that nonliteral meaning can be shared and they can communicate these meanings effectively during pretense with partners.