Pretend play or role playing requires children to use their imaginations, think for themselves and create fun. This sort of activity isn’t just play, it is a way for them to learn and develop. Assisting them in this, by providing them with the tools they need can help them to come up with scenarios and can make it even more fun, so in this article, we look at ways that pretend play benefits your child.
Don’t forget, we have an epic selection of role play toys, including kitchens, shops, push chairs and work stations.
- Learn social skills: By playing as a shopkeeper, or as a doctor, or a pirate, or any other role, your children give themselves the opportunity to learn communication and social skills, adapting to different situations. Even if they are playing with an imaginary character, this is beneficial. Pretend play teaches children empathy, understanding and compassion and helps them to learn social boundaries. Mock situations show kids how their parents would act in real life situations .
- Improve problem solving skills: Role playing leads children into situations, created by themselves and their environment, and brings in tricky problems and tasks that need to be solved. By learning from their parents, they can solve problems in the same way that their parents would.
- Learn language skills: One key element of creative pretend play is interaction. This could be with a real friend or an imaginary character, but either way, they are interacting. Role play encourages expressive language, which wouldn’t otherwise be used by the child.
- Use their imagination: Role playing requires the use of the child’s imagination and promotes creative thinking, which becomes useful for children as they learn at school or in general.
- It is fun: Let’s not forget that role playing is great fun! Healthy fun makes kids happier and this type of playing gives children full control over the situation, which is something they are unlikely to have in every single real life situation.
Browse our selection of role play toys at EPIC Play including kitchen toys, play shops, toy push chairs and car seats and toy work benches.