Toys that encourage pretend play
For each toy below, there are recommendations for children who are just beginning to pretend ("new pretenders") as well as children who already engage in some pretending ("experienced pretenders"). To determine your child's stage of pretend play development, refer to the guidelines in our article "The Land of Make Believe".
- Your child's favourite stuffed animal or doll. Teddy bears aren't just for cuddling and sleeping! Sometimes children's first pretending is seen with their favourite stuffed animal or doll. New pretenders might enjoy feeding their teddy bear or doll with a toy spoon or putting a blanket over it so it can go to sleep. Experienced pretenders can have tea parties with several stuffed animals or dolls, or create a veterinarian's office or hospital by placing stuffed animals or dolls in old shoe boxes which do double duty as beds!
- Puppets. Puppets can be used in the same way as stuffed animals or dolls. But they have an additional feature that really stimulates pretending – their moving mouths and arms help them come to life. This makes them look more realistic and encourages new pretenders to feed them, talk to them, or comb their hair. More experienced pretenders enjoy putting on puppet shows using multiple puppets, or even puppets they've made themselves out of old socks. A cardboard box makes a great puppet theatre. Puppet shows encourage great collaboration and peer play in older children.
- Blocks and Lego. Blocks are not just for building towers! Children new to pretending might build something simple and familiar like a house or a garage for their favourite car. More experienced pretenders might pretend individual blocks are beds for the hospital or pieces of garbage for the garbage truck. Or they might enjoy creating elaborate scenes out of blocks, such as various buildings for a block "city". Some Lego sets are designed to build something specific, such as a spaceship or a castle. But try to "think outside of the Lego box"! There is no limit to what you and your child can create together .
- Toy food and dishes. Sometimes parents of boys are surprised when I suggest toy food and dishes as a pretend idea for their son, wondering "aren't those for girls?" But as a mother of two boys I can tell you that ALL children love to pretend about food! Children interact with food constantly – they eat, watch their caregivers prepare meals, and visit the grocery store. This makes food a great theme for new pretenders as it is so familiar. Often a child's first pretending involves food, such as feeding a stuffed animal or feeding mommy with a toy cup. More experienced pretenders can play restaurant, have a tea party, pretend to shop for toy food, have a birthday party, play pizza shop…the possibilities are endless!
- Vehicles. This time, it's the parents of girls who ask "aren't those for boys?" But all children enjoy playing with vehicles. Just like food, vehicles are something common in children's experience, which makes it a good early pretend theme. Pushing a toy car back and forth doesn't necessarily mean a child is pretending. But once they put an action figure inside and "drive" the car to the mechanic for a tune-up, the imagination is really working! A shoe box with doors cut out at the ends makes a great pretend car wash. Small dolls can take a bus ride to the zoo. Keep things simple for new pretenders by demonstrating one simple action with the vehicle, like pretending to fix it with a toy tool, or pretending to race two cars (one for you and one for your child).To know details visit http://allindiayellowpage.com/.