When can they play 'properly'?

[slatternlymother]

DS is 21mo and plays well for periods of between 20-60 minutes on his own without interaction from us.

We recently bought him some Brio trains, but he doesn't seem to 'get' them yet. He will take them off the track and put them into his Ark. Which incidentally, seems to make up a lot of his playtime; just piling things into other things (boxes, the Ark), flicking through books etc.

I guess there doesn't seem to be a lot of structure to it, no imaginary play and I wondered when that happened?

The piling things in boxes is play! And very important play. Google 'heuristic play' and look at the kinds of resources you could use for him. Pegs, curtain, rings plastic, bottles, balti dishes, mug trees etc. They are open ended resources with no right or wrong answers.
He might just like putting the items in a container and moving them to another part if the room and then back again.

Also google 'schemas' patterns of play in children it is quite interesting!

Imaginary play comes later when children have more experiences of the world around them and can then link their train set with a train that they have seen/ been on.

He also tips cars/his wheely bug upside down and plays with the wheels as if he's checking out how it works

He won't watch children's programmes though. Friends say that their children (same age as DS) are really into in the night garden or peppa pig etc, like really into it. But DS isn't interested. I have offered but he just wanders off. I'm starting to worry he'll not fit in if he doesn't watch them.

If he likes wheels, he may have a rotatation schema. DS2 did, he liked lying down on the floor watching the wheels go round on his vehicles. He also loved helicopters and aeroplanes for their propeller/ rotor blade.
He loves my mixer so enjoys baking, also likes mixing with a spoon.
He like rolling pins - making biscuits or play with play dough.
I also introduced windmills and plastic spinners from B&M in the garden.

I realised after attending a training course as part of my childminding training, that he had this particular trait!

Ooooh yes he likes windmills! You know the cheap ones like you can get at the beach.

I just wondered when he'd play in the sense of having a proper, absorbing game really. As I said, he likes taking all the animals out of his Ark thing and putting them all in a box, then mixing some cars about in there, bits of track, then taking them out one by one and giving them to me or putting them in another box...

I'm not criticising in the least, it just seems quite basic still iyswim?

In the nicest possible way you are way overthinking this. It won't matter one jot if he watches TV or not, or what programmes he likes until he's at least 5 or 6, and it will all have changed by then anyway.

I don't think DS did imaginative play until about 2.5, and he still doesn't really draw imaginatively or want to make things, he will build towers etc with duplo and scribble or colour in but doesn't really draw things unless you ask him to. He's actually more likely to try to form letters, which I know sounds a bit weird, but it's true! He seems more interested with finding out about things than thinking up new things. (He's 3.8 now)

There's a huge variation in how much children are able to play imaginatively on their own - a massive range just in my own 4. My oldest would get absorbed for hours in games where toy cars were obviously people/had characters - but 2 of my DCs never really went off into their own little worlds. They usually needed some sort of input/direction. And they've turned out OK :).

And also don't forget that while you may be thinking there's no development in direction A, there will often actually be development in direction B going on which you haven't registered. I remember fretting over one of mine not talking much, but eventually worked out he was far more physically able than his peers. Once he'd sussed the physical stuff, he moved on to making an effort to talk. As long as your DS is happy and confident and secure - don't fret.

I know bertie I just look at him sometimes and think 'you must be bored!' I suppose it's because he doesn't use his toys as advertised, and I was wondering how long that takes.

He likes piling things in boxes and then moving them to another place, and another, and another...

hassled yes, I often look at him and think... 'what is going on in there?'