”When children enter the world of pretend play, they are the kings and queens of
a new world – a world that they can build and control.”
— Einstein Never Used Flashcards, by Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, Diane Eyer, Roberta
Michnick Golinkoff
My three-year-old granddaughter loves to be someone else or something else! It almost seems to be a passion at this stage of her young life. She can be several different princesses, a bear, a superhero, and a scary monster in one day. It turns out that all this imaginative play is a good thing. Although it’s only make-believe, it’s good practice for “real life.” Stepping into different pretend roles teaches our youngsters many of the various social, emotional, physical, and
cognitive skills that they will need to learn to grow up to be successful,
compassionate, creative adults. As the great creator, Walt Disney himself,
said, “if you can dream it, you can do it.”
Pink Bear goes to the park.
Just what are some of the benefits of imaginative play? By stepping out of who
they are and into the role of a character, our children can learn empathy. As an
example, our kids have probably watched Frozen more times than we can count
on both our fingers and toes. By our children putting themselves in the role of
Elsa, and acting out the many scenes and situations that she encounters, they
begin to understand things like sadness, joy, fear, and resolve. Even though our
children might not be able to label the feelings they are acting out, they begin to
understand the emotions themselves. They are developing empathy. These kids
can also learn and practice appropriate behaviors: how to interact with others,
negotiation skills, self-control, managing emotions, cooperation, and reading
social cues. Creative play is also a means through which our youngsters can
develop the bonds of friendship with other children, often through acting out
scenes they have witnessed on the screen or in real-world situations.
Creative play can offer the perfect opportunity for our young people to work out
some of the fears or anxieties that they might have. An example might be a fear
of dogs. By being a pretend animal doctor, a child can engage and interact
with imaginary dogs and learn to feel more at ease and in control of their
feelings, even if they cannot control actual situations with dogs. Carlin Barnes, M.D., a board-certified child and adolescent psychiatrist says, "In crisis-ridden times..., it is more important than ever to allow kids time to pretend play.
Engaging in pretend play may very likely help your child deal with anxiety and
stress as well as help your child feel more secure, safe, and reassured."
Make-believe play reduces TV or computer “screen time.” It encourages our
children to use their imaginations to conjure up their own mental images of how
they will save the damsel in distress, their version of a “dance party” (ball), or the many treasures a mermaid can collect under the sea. By emphasizing make-
believe play over screen time; we are better able to help our kids strengthen essential imaginative skills.
Pretend play doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive, although there are a
lot of gorgeous princess costumes out there! When my granddaughter needed a
mermaid tail to go with her mermaid jammies, we hit the fabric section in Walmart, found some appropriate material, and with the help of a YouTube video, she soon had a mermaid tail. Masks have been created out of colored paper, bear caves out of cardboard boxes, and butcher paper has been turned into fairytale castles with a bit of help from some magic markers. All we need to do as parents and grandparents is put on our imaginative play hats, heed the cues of
our young playmates, and enjoy the time we get to spend with them! They grow
up way too fast!
Citations:
https://www.montessori.com/blog/2020/09/make-believe-is-magically-educational/
https://laberkeleylake.com/the-top-4-benefits-of-make-believe-for-children/
https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/parenting/a33835654/pretend-play/
https://messymotherhood.com/day-10-make-believe-play/