This study aimed to examine how kindergarten children demonstrate peer persuasion and dominance duringplay to better understand their social development. The participants were one section of 5-year-old childrenenrolled at musuan integrated school in musuan, maramag, bukidnon. Using a naturalistic observation method,the researchers observed the children’s free play without interference to identify dominance tactics, peerresponses, and the frequency of successful persuasion. The findings revealed that the children used a mix ofverbal commands, non-verbal gestures, and physical actions to show dominance. Peer responses were mainlycompliance, resistance, or withdrawal, with many children allowing dominant peers to lead in order to maintaingroup harmony. The frequency of successful persuasion varied from 20% to 87.5% of observed interactions.The study concludes that play serves as an important setting for developing social influence and leadership skillsamong young children. These results highlight the value of observing play behavior to better support social andemotional learning in early childhood education.