Abstract

The goals of the present study were (a) to identify the impact particular stereotyped toys have on young children’s complexity of play, (b) how these behaviors may influence children’s assessment of cognitive development using play assessment (Lyytinen, 1991), and (c) to ascertain the toys that would be most appropriate for use in play assessment sessions. A total of 30 children who ranged in age from 18-47 months were observed playing for 30-minutes in a playroom. Analyses revealed that higher levels of play complexity were only manifested when children played with female stereotyped toys. The implications for practitioners of this and other findings are discussed.