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Beyond making us laugh a lot at times, we can delve a little deeper into the subject by asking ourselves the following questions: What is the real purpose of pretend play? Does it contribute to the healthy development of my child? We answer your questions.
From an early age, a baby imitates their mum or dad with everyday gestures such as waving “hello” or clapping “well done”. This is called direct imitation because the child spontaneously reproduces the gesture they have just seen.
It is only later, around 18-24 months, that the child will really imitate and repeat what they have seen and heard, a past action that they have recorded. This is called deferred imitation. For example, pretending to eat or drink, even though there’s nothing on their plate or in their glass. They become aware that even though there’s nothing there (when they see it) the object continues to exist.
After the age of 2, your child will develop their speech through pretend play toys, as psychologist Jean Piaget points out, “speech emerges through deferred imitation”.
The toys you purchase must be as realistic as possible to allow your child to make the connection to the real thing. Additionally, don’t hesitate to show them the real object before presenting the wooden toy to them (ideally!).
The very first pretend play toys are first and foremost centered around everyday life: preparing meals in the kitchen, eating at the table, bathtime, going to bed, etc...
-Role-playing games with the children's kitchen, tea set, doll's bed, doll's high chair, tool bench, etc. The child enjoys using them to imitate their parents and situations and events they have seen or experienced in their daily life.
-Representation games: drawing, modeling clay, cutting. This allows the child to express characters and situations using tools like a simple piece of paper and a pencil.
-Staging games: toy garage, dolls house or fire station, as well as dolls and figurines. The child is no longer an actor but invents their own stories with characters they assign roles to. These games occur later, around 3-4 years of age.
Cognitive development includes all the major functions such as intelligence, memory, speech, counting, etc. It depends on the maturation of the child's brain and social and physical interactions. When the child imitates, they interact with their environment and as a result build their cognitive structures. Between 2 and 4 years old, pretend play, also called symbolic play by early childhood professionals, makes it possible to resolve internal conflicts through its role as an outlet. The child reproduces scenes from their daily life, in their own way and from their point of view. Perhaps you’ve already witnessed your child begin to scold their cuddly toy or doll? This is a way for them to assimilate social roles and therefore submit to the rules. It also allows them to express themselves and be able to take a step back from the situations they may experience.
Motor development is strongly stimulated by pretend play. In fact, when your child handles and grabs hold of small objects when playing tea sets for example, they are developing their fine motor skills. At the table, when they want to feed their dolls, they must concentrate on holding the spoon and bringing it to their doll’s mouth. Another example, at your dressing table, when your child tries to put on your lipstick without it going everywhere!
Socialization is greatly encouraged through imitation play. When your child has fun playing other roles, they become aware of the existence of the other but also of themselves and play interactively.