Abstract

The play behaviours of Sri Lankan children were observed and categorized according to a scheme used with British preschool children. Two villages which differed in socio‐economic status were selected, and in each village 20 preschool children (10 boys and 10 girls) between the ages of 4 and 5 years were studied. Although cultural factors determined the content of their play, very few behaviours appear to be culturally specific, e.g. most of the children engaged in a recognizable form of symbolic play. Availability of toys did not inhibit the use of non‐toy materials, and other differences between children from the two villages were concordant with expectation. Boys engaged in more negative behaviour than girls, and also scored higher on fantasy object play. Results are comparable with those obtained with British children and provide face validity for the categorization scheme.

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