The Importance of Pretend Play
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Dr. Jeffrey Trawick-Smith: Play is the most enjoyable part of childhood. Honestly I’m not sure we need any further justification for including it in our classrooms in our family child care homes. Play is what makes childhood wonderful. But it so happens that play is also absolutely crucial for learning and development. Play nurtures almost everything that is important in early childhood, from social development to language to emotional well-being to motor coordination—even reading or being able to do math. Play influences everything.
One kind of play that’s especially important is pretend play. It’s the kind of play that you see in every part of the world in children. You might know this by other names—dramatic play, dress up, housekeeping, fantasy play. Regardless of what you call it, if you’re working with young children, you know what this kind of play is like, and you’ve seen how valuable it can be.