The effects of play materials on social play.

The team watched kids during free play. They swapped toys each day.

Some days they put out social toys like dress-up clothes and board games. Other days they offered isolate toys like puzzles and coloring sheets.

They counted how often children played together.

Social toys pushed joint play from 16% to 78%. That is almost five times more.

No extra lessons or tokens were needed. The toys alone did the work.

Yuill et al. (2007) later built a whole playground for children with autism. They used the same idea: pick gear that needs a partner. Their social zone doubled group play, just like the 1973 toy swap.

Dominguez et al. (2006) looked at what kids with autism actually pick. They found these children choose different toys and use them in their own way. So the social-toy trick still works, but you must check each child’s top items first.

Pane et al. (2025) scoping review says use natural rooms, peers, and familiar toys when you teach play. The 1973 study is the grand-daddy proof for that advice.

You can lift social time tomorrow by auditing your toy shelf. Trade the solo puzzles for a doctor kit, a tea set, or a simple board game. Watch for five minutes and you should see more talking, sharing, and turn-taking with zero extra programming.