Benefits of Role / Pretend Play

How Pretend Play Helps Children Learn

Pretending is important in child development. Through pretend play:

• Children learn about themselves      and the world. Dramatic play experiences are some of the first ways      children learn about their likes and dislikes, their interests, and their      abilities. They experiment with role playing and work to make sense out of      what they’ve observed. Just watch children playing with dolls to see      examples of this. Dolls often become versions of the child himself and are      a safe way for children to express new ideas and feelings.
• Children work out confusing,      scary, or new life issues. Have you ever witnessed children pretending to      visit the doctor? One child dutifully holds the mock stethoscope as the      others line up for a check-up. More often than not someone gets ‘shots’.      This is a child’s way of exploring an experience that is common and      sometimes confusing or scary. Through these role plays, children become      more comfortable and prepared for life events in a safe way. Children      often use pretend play to work out more personal challenging life events      too, whether it is coping with an illness in the family, the absence of a      parent or divorce, or a house fire.
• Children develop important      complex social and higher order thinking skills. Pretend play is much more      than simple play activities; it requires advanced thinking strategies,      communication, and social skills. Through pretend play, children learn to      do things like negotiate, consider others’ perspectives, transfer      knowledge from one situation to another, delay gratification, balance      their own ideas with others, develop a plan and act on it, explore      symbolism, express and listen to thoughts and ideas, assign tasks and      roles, and synthesize different information and ideas. In this creative      play description, we could just as easily be describing the skills needed      to successfully manage a work project for an adult as describing      children’s pretend play.
• Children cultivate social and      emotional intelligence. How we interact with others is key to our lifelong      success and happiness. Knowing how to read social cues, recognize and      regulate emotions, negotiate and take turns, and engage in a long-term      activity that is mutually beneficial are no easy tasks. There is no      substitute for creative and imaginative play when it comes to teaching and      enhancing these abilities in children.
• Children synthesize knowledge      and skills. Because learning and child development doesn’t happen in      discrete pockets of time or during isolated activities, children need      opportunities to blend their skills and knowledge together. Pretend play      is an ideal way to do this. Think of children playing ‘grocery’ store.      They sort by attributes as they group similar foods in sections of the      store, use math concepts to tabulate amounts as they determine prices and      calculate grocery bills, use writing to communicate by making signs,      experiment with shapes and weights as they organize the store, work      collaboratively as they assign roles and play together, and much more.