At which age can children engage in word play and like jokes and riddles that involve a play on words ?

The correct option is Seven years.

Child development and language acquisition studies show distinct stages in how children process language, humor, and wordplay:

1. Early Language Development (Ages 1 to 3): Young children appreciate simple humor based on visual cues, peek-a-boo, physical slapstick, or silly sounds, but they lack the cognitive and linguistic maturity to understand word-based jokes, double meanings, or puns.

2. Preschool & Early School Age (Ages 4 to 6): Children begin to understand basic humor and riddles, but their comprehension remains mostly literal.

3. Middle Childhood (Around 7 years): By approximately seven years of age, children experience a significant leap in cognitive development (entering Piaget's concrete operational stage) and metalinguistic awareness. They learn that words can have multiple meanings, homophones, or ambiguous interpretations. This allows them to appreciate puns, riddle humor, and play on words (verbal humor).

4. Later Childhood (12 years): By twelve years, children have already fully mastered basic wordplay and move on to complex sarcasm, irony, and abstract humor.

Therefore, children typically begin to actively engage in and enjoy word play, jokes, and riddles involving puns around the age of seven years.