Imaginary play, when broken down simply, is pretend play \u2026 role play \u2026 acting out tasks and plots, expressing feelings, discovering choices and experiencing the outcome of decisions in a safe, controlled environment. It\u2019s when your child plays with various kinds of toys, and characters\u00a0to create his or her own scenarios; when he or she acts like his favourite hero or character, real or imaginary. They might mimic someone they know, like a parent, friend, doctor, or teacher. It could be entirely make-believe. It\u2019s interchangeable, dramatic, fantastic and most importantly, it\u2019s your child making sense of this world.<\/p>\n
What are the benefits?<\/strong><\/p>\n There are so many benefits to imaginary play, whether it\u2019s your child playing with sibling or a friend or when you engage with him or her in healthy, imaginative play.<\/p>\n Apart from improving social, emotional and language development, imaginative play:<\/em><\/p>\n How you can encourage imaginative play?<\/strong><\/p>\n There\u2019s no need to spend money on new toys for pretend play. Small spaces around the house and simple things you or your child can think of will work. Find a safe space where powerful things can be revealed if you take the time to engage with your child \u2013 a tidy corner of your home or underneath the dining room table. Old sheets and cardboard boxes, clothes, Tupperware, empty paper towel rolls, dolls, mismatched socks, stuffed animals and all kinds of odd and ends can be used to create a world of fun and imaginary play.<\/p>\n Do yourself a favour and set aside a box of age-appropriate things that your child can turn to whenever he or she wants or needs to engage in imaginary play. Every now and then, go through the box and replace a few of these items to keep things new and exciting.<\/p>\n Show interest in whatever your child does during imaginary play time. Your reinforcement is vital to their self-acceptance and security. Try to play with them every day, even if it\u2019s just for 15 minutes, and let your child run the show. If he or she struggles to come up with ideas, jot down a few on small strips of paper, fold them up and put them into a jar for those days, so they can reach in and pull out an adventure.<\/p>\n Arrange playdates. Using imagination with peers of a similar age is just as important as with parents but it provides other experiences.<\/p>\n Ideas for imaginative play<\/strong><\/p>\n Birth to two years<\/strong><\/p>\n Two to five years <\/strong><\/p>\n Five to seven years <\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As parents, we often wonder what we can do to support our child\u2019s growth and development. One of the most important things we can do is encourage imaginative play. Play is a part of evolutionary culture and an essential aspect of every child\u2019s health and development. It can prepare children for the complexity of everyday […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":31559,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[235,8881,802,2098],"class_list":{"0":"post-31558","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-kids","8":"tag-children","9":"tag-imaginative-play","10":"tag-kids","11":"tag-play"},"yoast_head":"\n\n
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