Abstract
This article examines in detail, the way in which play assists in the metacognitive development of children. It traces the role of imitation in the development of the child from the earliest interactions with parents and other adults, through the ever closer relationships which develop with both adults and children as language skill develop. The differing roles of adults and other children are highlighted. The author relates the actions of children and adults as they relate and interact with each other from the age of 2 or 3 months through to four or five years, to the psychologial processes involved when children try to make sense of their world. This desire to make sense of their environment is shown to need both an understanding of the roles and actions of others as well as an ability to decentre. These skills the author sees as having roots in the earliest non-verbal interactions of babies and adults, which are developed as the child invents, or takes part in play activity and which grow and strengthen as the child matures.
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