A person who engages in role-play where one or more of the participants acts a different age from their chronological (i.e., physical) age. Such play is not necessarily sexual in nature, and can often be cathartic for the parties involved.
While not all ageplayers identify with a specific role like Big, middle, or little, the term is often used to describe dynamics and play involving these roles (such as Caregiver/little relationships).
Age regression is a mental state in which the person reverts to a younger version of themselves as a coping mechanism and is nonsexual. In the littles community, conflating age play and age regression is strongly discouraged, as someone who regresses to an age below the age of consent cannot engage in any sexual activity safely.
