If you think pretend play is just one more way for the toy industry to make you spend more, it is not. Learning through fantasy play has for long been considered a vital component of a child’s development. Since the 19th century, studies have reported a correlation between role play and behavioral and mental development in young children. From wooden kitchen sets and doll houses to play tents, workshop stations and supermarket sets, all the childrens pretend play toys available on the market are designed to help children improve language, motor, social and problem-solving skills, and all this through fun yet engaging play.
Language Skills
Childrens pretend play toys such as doll houses, kitchens and play tents require children to invent scenarios and tell stories. This helps them train their minds to transform ideas into words. When children participate in fantasy play, they imitate the words they have heard others saying, which helps them develop vocabulary and language skills.
Social Skills
Whether your kid plays with a real friend or an imaginary one, pretend play toysin some sense, “force” children to look beyond their own needs and desires. This helps them learn understanding, empathy and compassion.
Problem-Solving Skills
Through pretend play games, children can learn to face situations that exceed their real-lives experiences. They need to come up with solutions to various situations and dilemmas they come up with but are often connected to things they observe in their parents’ lives. This process of coming up with solutions to solve certain problems helps children think of creative solutions to their own real-life problems.
Physical Development
Pretending to be someone or something else in an imaginary way can help a child develop motors skills. From arranging doll house furniture and tools in workshop sets to dressing toys and putting their toys away when the game has finished, pretend play toys help builds hand-eye coordination as well as develop visual discrimination.
Educational Comprehension
Children are more likely to learn uninteresting and difficult things when you transform those lessons into games that are engaging and fun. For example, you can buy your kids a supermarket pretend play set to teach them addition and subtraction. Instead of doing problems on paper, your children can show their new understanding by pretending they are cashiers at the store.
While childrens pretend play toys are excellent for learning, one of the biggest benefits is simply to provide lots of fun for children!
