Children’s Play Territories - Hideouts and Play Domains as Protective Spaces in Childcare Play Culture

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Mabel

Explores how children’s social fantasy play in childcare is shaped by ongoing construction of social and geographical boundaries. Using Erving Goffman’s concept of “territories of the self” as an analytical lens, the article examines a qualitative, ethnographically inspired observational study of Danish children. It shows how play domains and social alliances create both obstacles and possibilities, reflecting the territorial implications of children’s negotiation, organization, and protection of spaces during shared make-believe.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages27

Reading Time1 h 8 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Social fantasy play as boundary construction

Territoriality and play territories

Children’s Play Territories Hideouts and Play Domains as Protective Spaces in Childcare Play Culture • Nils Falk Hansen In this article, the author deploys Erving Goffman’s concept of territories of the self as an analytical tool to understand the challenges and opportunities a childcare setting presents for children engaged in social fantasy play. He uses this concept to unpack the unique institutional play habitat of a childcare facility and shows how Goffman’s territories form a constant concern for children in their engagements, orientations, and creative projects in social fantasy play. Through an in-depth analysis of emblematic play inan ethnographically inspired observational study, the author illustrates how the need for play domains and social alliances in childcare helps create both the demanding obstacles and inspirational possibilities of children’s social fantasy play. Key words: early childhood education and care (ECEC); peergroup; play territories; social fantasy play; symbolic interaction Introduction Children’s social fantasy play is often portrayed as an egalitarian art of co-creation and collaboration (Schousboe 2013) . Children’s co-creative construction of open-ended play dramas and play narratives involves shared make-believe scenarios and enactments of reciprocal roles (Winther-Lindqvist 2013; Connolly and Doyle 1984) . To form a play group with peers, open the gate to the magical kingdom of imagination, and pursue the alluring “what if”question, children must be able to compromise, set their differences aside, and work together in an atmosphere of mutual inspiration and open responsiveness (Gillespie 2006; Connolly and Doyle 1984). This positive view of play appears consistent with a child’s own experiences. The excitement of spending time with friends and playing together topped the list when Danish scholars recently asked children to name the key attractions of childcare life (Koch and Jørgensen 2018) . 196 American Journal of Play, volume 15, number 2 © 2023 by The Strong [Contact Nils Falk Hansen at nifh@edu.au.dk](Contact Nils Falk Hansen at nifh@edu.au.dk) However, when we consider children’s social fantasy play a consensual partnership of creative collaboration, we easily overlook the ongoing construction of social and geographical boundaries as an essential dynamic of children’splay. For Schousboe (2013), social fantasy play is a shared project among a group of children simultaneously operating in three interdependent spheres of reality: imagination (the fictional fantasy play universe), staging (the negotiation of mutual roles and organizational planning), and reality (the physical locations, material resources, social surroundings, and real-life relationships of play participants). This view of social fantasy play calls for a heightened awareness of the social demands and environmental conditions of children’s play habitats by foregrounding social fantasy play as a multilayered and multidimensional activity of meaning beyond the fictional realm of make believe. In fact, as many empirical studies have shown, children’s practices of sharing, including, and forming cooperative play communities, especially so in a childcare setting, are inseparable from—and deeply intertwined with—their struggles to close off, control, and protect interactive spaces and play alliances against outsiders (Corsaro 2018; Cromdal 2001; Evaldsson and Karlsson 2020; Meire 2013; Sheldon 1996). The immaterial world of children’s social aspirations and commitments to eachother—as well as the material world of physical objects, spaces, and places—are constitutive parts of the dynamics of social fantasy play. An investigative look at the ongoing formation and transformation of social and spatial play domainsin children’s shared practices of fantasy play opens a gateway to the exploration of the complex demands of their institutional play habitats by shedding light on the principal challenges of organizing

FAQs

What analytical concept does the author use to study children’s play in childcare?

The author uses Erving Goffman’s concept of “territories of the self” to analyze how children manage social and spatial boundaries during social fantasy play.

How does the article describe social fantasy play in childcare spaces?

Social fantasy play is presented as involving imagination, staging (negotiating roles), and reality (physical locations, resources, and real relationships), with attention to social demands and environmental conditions.

What role do play domains and social alliances play according to the article?

They help create both demanding obstacles and inspirational possibilities by enabling children to close off, control, and protect interactive spaces and alliances against outsiders.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Mabel