Emily Chan
Believe it or not, fostering a child’s imagination is just as essential as teaching them how to count, write, or read.
When children act out the scenarios they envision in their heads, they are engaging in pretend play, which stimulates plenty of skills that will benefit them in the long run.
Pretend play or make-believe, is when a child expresses themselves through play. They will assign meaning and ideas to objects, even experimenting with different roles.
Some examples of pretend play in the early stages of development includes playing peek-a-boo, pretending to talk on a toy telephone, or feeding a doll with a fork.
When kids reach the toddler stage, they might also impersonate superheroes, their mom or dad, and host tea parties.
And as they get older, pretend play scenarios will become increasingly complex and detailed, requiring more props.
By imitating what they see around them, kids slowly begin to grasp different social roles. So now that we’ve discussed how children like to play at various stages of their growth, let’s briefly get into some of the benefits of pretend play.
When your child pretends to play school or go shopping with their friends, they are developing their communication and social skills. Playing with other kids requires teamwork, sharing, and taking turns.
As a result, they learn how to recognize and respond to other people’s feelings during these imaginary activities.
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