• Published by Salma Safira Sukma from BehaviorPALS Center 

Pretend play or imaginary play is an essential activity in children’s life and highly beneficial for their development. In pretend play, children like to use objects to represent something or act as if they are someone else. This allows them to see things from different perspectives, explore and express themselves, and think creatively. Therefore, pretend play is not only about having fun, but also very beneficial for children’s social, emotional, and cognitive development, especially in their early childhood.

Moreover, here are other advantages of pretend play for your children:

1. Promote Creative Thinking

Creative thinking is an important skill as it will help children to solve daily problems, make plans, and discover or try new things. Pretend play allows your children to break the bridge between reality and imagination, thus it promotes their capacity for cognitive flexibility or creativity. They are encouraged to think beyond the ordinary like creating scenarios with their friends and how objects can have different purposes for many different things.

2. Improve Language and Communication Skills

Language and communication skills are enhanced in pretend play as it gives children the chance to explore new words and expand their vocabulary while trying to play a certain role and communicate with us or their friends. When they create a new thing, they may also have to explain what the object is or what it should represent to us and make sure we understand. 

3. Develop Problem-Solving Skills

Doing a pretend play requires a lot of considerations which children must think carefully. For example, when they decide to play as a dragon slayer, they have to think about what they can use as their armor and sword. They also have to figure out the storyline and who will be involved in the play. 

4. Improve Social and Emotional Development

During a pretend play activity, children have the opportunity to experience different social and emotional roles in life as they try to take on different characters. For example, when your child plays as a doctor, they are going to have to learn to show compassion and empathy to help others in need. They will also have the chance to learn how to work as a team, be responsible, share, and take turns. 

5. Encourage Independence

Pretend play allows children to take responsibility and be in charge of their games, hence gives them the chance to take risks as well. They also have the freedom to use their creativity. Eventually, this will help build their confidence and independence.

References: 

Garcia, H. (2022, December 11). 5 benefits of pretend play. Parents. https://www.parents.com/benefits-of-pretend-play-6828493

Homan, E. (2016, June 26). Why pretend play is important for child development. Pentagon for Learning and Play. https://www.pentagonplay.co.uk/news-and-info/why-pretend-play-is-important-to-child-development 

By: Salma Safira Sukma Ikhsani, S.Psi. from BehaviorPALS

benefits, pretend play, early childhood

Pre-school 2 Years - 4 Years / 2 Tahun - 4 Tahun (Balita) / Cognitive Development / Tumbuh Kembang Kognitif / Education / Pendidikan / Benefits of Pretend Play in Early Childhood

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