Imaginative or pretend play, stimulates the senses, creates opportunities for exploration
and creative thinking, and helps your 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.
Older preschoolers will enjoy engaging in role-play and love to dress-up. One day
my daughter greeted me as “The Great Becean (her word)” – a world famous magician!
The next day she was a lion – king of the house (at least for a day)!! 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.
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.
Written by Dr Cathrine Neilsen-Hewett and provided to us by KiDS Central and the
Early Learning Centre.
