Let me Pretend!
As children develop, one of the most important aspects of play for the development of cognition is pretend play. Children should be allowed to engage in pretend play in the home, or school setting, to enhance their cognitive thinking. Let’s examine cognitive thinking. Cognitive thinking may include: the action of learning, attention, memory, language, decision making.
What is Pretend Play?
It is important for the term Pretend Play to be defined, in this manner parents; teachers, and other adults will be able to provide children with the right materials to engage in pretend play. Pretend Play is when a child engages in make believe. For example, children can make believe, by:
- Playing house: children engage in giving each other roles. If a little boy is present, he will be assigned to play the part of dad. One child will be given the part of baby, and of course another part of mom, as so on. These children use their imagination and experiences in their own home to play “home”; cooking, cleaning, correcting the baby, etc.
- Playing store: children engage in giving each other roles in a store setting. One child shops, another is the cashier.
- One of my personal favorites: Playing Jurassic Park. Children engage inJurassicParkroles. Children may use a swing set as prop of a car, and bushes, flowers, rocks, as dinosaurs. One child may be a tour guide and the rest his/her audience.
Why is Pretend Play so important for children to engage in?
Hughes, emphasized that when children engage in different roles, they learn social skills, like communication, problem solving and empathy. Skills just as language, creativity, and emotions are all practiced and enhanced during the process of pretend play. Children learn the positive aspects of situations as well as the negative aspects of situations while they are pretending to play “real-life”. Without even knowing it, children are learning to be professionals, dads, moms, students, workers, teachers, etc.
Where can a child engage in Pretend Play?
Children begin to engage in Pretend Play around 12-15 months as children begin to imitate what their father or mother and siblings are doing. At age 3 pretend play becomes more detailed and more complex. At age 12-15 months most children are at home or at child care. It is important for child care providers to encourage and provide toys for pretend play. As the child hits age 3, they will be most likely be attending some kid of preschool. Preschools provide many tools and activities for pretend play. This is where the child’s pretend levels will skyrocket.
Toys parents can use for their children
Toys enhance children and their play settings. For those parents looking for toys to enhance their child’s pretend play, here is a list of those toys that promote pretend play:
- tea sets
- kitchens, BBQ sets
- school sets (chalk boards, desk)
- music toys
- dolls
- telephones
- pretend animals
- outside toys (swing sets, lawn mowers, gardening tools)
- play houses
- paints
- brooms, vacuums
- tool sets
In the efforts to make sure our children succeed, pretend play will take one of the most important impacts on their cognitive development. Providing your child with the best and most important tools for success can be as easy as playing with your child.
Related articles
- Pretend Nap Time (mrmomman.wordpress.com)
- The Gift of Play: Children With Cognitive Delays (children.webmd.com)
- Take 15 mins a day to act like a child! (zemameyteypema.wordpress.com)
- The Great Pretender (livingingraceland.wordpress.com)
- Teaching Your Child With Special Needs (amazus.org)
I am asking this question to find out if developmental disorders, such as autism, Asperger Syndrome and other autism spectrum disorders (ASD), and pervasive developmental disorders (PDD) are considered learning disabilities by those in the disabled community.
I believe that pretend play is essential for cognitive thinking. I remember that as a child I use to play school with my friends, house, the bus, and many other different pretend games. I use to love it and it really helped me develop my cognitive thinking. It’s fun, let the child enjoy its play.
Who would have thought that when I engaged in these games as a kid that I was unknowingly helping develop my cognitive thinking? This was a good read and is something that many parents would benefit from being informed about, especially with the current shift toward households having two working parents. My younger cousins are all sent to daycare because both parents work. I think that I’m going to ask them about the what the daycare is like and if they provide the children with these opportunities to develop their cognitive thinking. I hope this is something that those seeking degrees in child development are educated in.
I believe it’s very important to emphasize pretend play to children. I like to give my children the opportunity to explore different roles of people. In doing so it gives them the opportunity to view the different roles that take place in our environment and it also help them with social interaction, and verbal skills.
I remember when I would pretend play with my sister and cousins. We would create obstacles for each other and pretend we would be playing Mario Brothers. I think pretend play is also a good way for children to get along with other children especially when they are an only child. I worked with children last semester and we really encouraged them to pretend play.