My most favorite pattern of play!
I knew my daughter was going places when I found her playing with my nail polish, pretending they were people. That was the beginning of a long and very rich life of pretend for her. I mentioned before, she gets so into the story that she has created that she gets offended when other people are not in on it too:
“I am NOT LINA, I am MARY.”
Now, she has taught her 2 year old brother all her tricks and they have so much fun! Just today alone they have gone camping, played Frozen 2 and Frozen 54 (I myself played both Anna and a rock giant), built cereal bowls and made breakfast, put objects to bed, talked to grandma on the phone, given mom a haircut (FOR PRETEND)… the list could go on.
*I LOVE her reaction when I play pretend too. It seems to surprise her a little bit, but then she gets the biggest smile and gets even more excited about playing. If ever you and your kid are on rough terms, try jumping into whatever world they are in and see how it changes their demeanor: “can I have a piece of cake, chef Lina?”
**Also try using their pretend names to get them to cooperate. My children aren’t always excited to help me clean or do dishes, unless of course I call them “Cinderella.”
Sometimes, especially when they want me to call them by different names or use objects for things they’re not supposed to be used for, I want to correct them. We as adults think that truth and reality are more important than they really are to these young kids. Yes, they are important, but so is a child’s ability to pretend.
“The ability of the young child to create their own sense of their mind, and that of others, takes place through pretend play, which continues to nourish the spirit throughout life, and remains key to innovation and creativity. Deprivation studies uphold the importance of this pattern of play, as understanding and trusting others and developing coping skills depends on its presence.”
National Institute For Play
The absolute best part about imaginative play is that you can have successful play with ANYTHING. You can spend lots of money on fancy toys, but it doesn’t even matter. I often find Lina playing kitchen on a bed or a chair instead of the fancy pretend kitchen we got for her.
Here are some ways to incorporate this kind of play:
- Play “House” or “Family” -pick roles and play out daily lives
- Dress Up (Towels are great for hair, capes, skirts, etc.)
- Make pretend instruments and play them
- Do “pretend” chores (if your smart you will give them real rags 😉)
- Create a zoo with stuffed animals and attend
- Build a vehicle of some sort–boat, rocket ship, car– and travel somewhere new!
- Pick a favorite movie and create new stories by acting them out
- Let them be doctors
- Draw a scene and make up a story to go with it
- Write a book!
Have some fun with this! Anything can be anything. Having an imagination is so important developmentally! So much of the coping I have done as an adult has used my imaginative skills: visualizing, changing a fearful situation into an ok reality, self talk.
Especially in times as uncertain as they are today, let the imaginations and pretend play take our children to worlds that are stress free, safe and fun! They don’t need the cares of the world on their shoulders.
