Young children learn by imagining and doing. Imaginative, pretend or role play, stimulates the senses, creates opportunities for exploration and creative thinking, and helps the child to develop key skills vital for intellectual and emotional growth as well as social success.
The first signs of pretend play emerge around 12 to 18 months. Your 18-month-old may try to feed their baby doll with a spoon, or pick up a block and bring it to their ear as a phone. Early forms of pretend play are largely solitary in nature. While your 2-year-old may enjoy the company of friends, a closer look at their play will tell you that each is under the spell of a separate fantasy.
It is not until after their third or even fourth birthdays that children’s pretend play becomes truly interactive, although your child will continue to enjoy solitary pretend play activities with miniature toys (e.g. dolls houses, petrol stations, castles, small trucks) and props.
The years from three to six are generally thought of as the “golden years” of pretend or imaginative play; at no other time in your child’s life will they be so immersed in a world of fantasy.
You can facilitate your child’s play be providing them with props and toys. In the early stages children need realistic props such as irons, miniature figurines, kitchenware, medical kits, and gardening tools to get them started and to sustain their play, but as they get older and more comfortable with this form of play, unrealistic props are equally important (e.g., cardboard boxes, sticks, cartons). It is also good to include open-ended objects like coloured blocks as these extend children’s imagination with unlimited possibilities.
Social and Emotional Skills
When your child engages in pretend play, he is actively experimenting with the social and emotional roles of life. Through cooperative play, he learns how to take turns, share responsibility, and creatively problem-solve. When your child pretends to be different characters, he has the experience of "walking in someone else's shoes," which helps teach the important moral development skill of empathy. It is normal for young children to see the world from their own egocentric point of view, but through maturation and cooperative play, your child will begin to understand the feelings of others. Your child also builds self-esteem when he discovers he can be anything just by pretending! Developmentally, pretend play enhances children’s self-confidence, self-awareness, and self-control. It stimulates children to think creatively, and improves memory, language and perspective-taking skills. Imaginative play is the form of play that is most social and has the greatest impact on the development of key skills important for children’s success with peers.
When playing creatively with their friends your child learns to cooperate and compromise (e.g., “I want to be the princess.” “No. You have to be the Queen, you were the princess last time!”), to participate in social activities, and to understand social relationships.
Language Skills
Have you ever listened in as your child engages in imaginary play with his toys or friends? You will probably hear some words and phrases you never thought he knew! In fact, we often hear our own words reflected in the play of children. Kids can do a perfect imitation of mum, dad, and the teacher! Pretend play helps your child understand the power of language. In addition, by pretend playing with others, he learns that words give him the means to re-enact a story or organize play.
This process helps your child to make the connection between spoken and written language — a skill that will later help him learn to read.
Thinking Skills
Pretend play provides your child with a variety of problems to solve. Whether it's two children wanting to play the same role or searching for the just right material to make a roof for the playhouse, your child calls upon important cognitive thinking skills that he will use in every aspect of his life, now and forever.
Nurturing the Imagination
Many role-plays involve simple imitation of adults; this helps your child to better understand what the world of adulthood is all about. If you are invited to participate (which at times you will be), take direction from your child as this is their world and they will relish the opportunity to be in- charge! When adults are overly intrusive in leading children’s play, many of the intrinsic benefits are lost.
Does your child enjoy a bit of rough and tumble play?
Great! Some researchers in early brain development believe that this sort of play helps develop the part of the brain (the frontal lobe) that regulates behaviour. So instead of worrying that this type of activity will encourage your child to act out or become too aggressive, be assured that within a supervised environment, rough and tumble play can actually help your child learn the self-regulation skills needed to know how and when this type of play is appropriate.
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