Child’s Play: The First Two Years of Life In the first two years of life play is both a reflection of and an influence on all areas of infant development: intellectual, social, emotional and physical. Play is a central, all–encompassing characteristic of infant development, allowing children to learn about the world and themselves. Even during the first half-year of life infant’s really do play, even though the interpretation of what is play and what is exploration must first be established. The focus of this paper is to discuss three forms of play that occur during the first two years of life. The work of