Top 4 Research-Based Benefits of Pretend Play

Do you often see your child talking to their dolls or robots? That is their imagination at work. When they play, their imagination gets exercised even more. Pretend play is based on your child’s imagination. It is the art of having fun with your child while letting their imagination go free. As a Child Care Centre in Pasadena, Maryland, we believe that imagination plays a very crucial role in the building up of a child’s overall learning.

If you haven’t been allowing your child to go and explore as often as possible, you will be doing them a great favor when you let them. Consider the following research-based benefits of pretend play:

1. Nurtures Cultural Understanding
   In this review, it has been found that different cultural backgrounds utilize pretend play to promote their respective cultures and practices. Children in many western countries are engaged with item-based plays, while many eastern nations are focused on sibling play. The more that a child engages with their play, the more they are in tune with their own culture, which is essential for their foundation as a grownup individual.
2. Enhances Creativity
   In another study, it has been found that children who tend to have more time playing with their so-called “imaginary friends” exhibit more creative responses in their creative potential. They were more elaborate in describing what their imagination entails. It is also striking to note how their memory is strong in remembering these details.
3. Furthers Engagement with Other Children
   Doing pretend play, according to this study, also enables the child to develop an understanding of the mind of another child especially one of the same age. When they play in pretend together, they exchange imaginative ideas together, resulting in better engagement as they play. This allows children to have their so-called “own world” which fosters good foundation in their friendship. This is also a principle we harness in our Daycare Center in Pasadena, Maryland as we allow children of the same age to play and learn together.
4. Improves Social Competence
   Furthermore, in this study, children who are more engaged with pretend play develops a sense of responsibility and competence to their imagined roles. When they act as a police officer, for instance, they exhaust their imagination to display what they know about police officers. In return, other children are motivated to explore the best of their assigned roles still using their imagination.

It is not just any declaration as to how pretend play benefits a child. Even researches and studies highlight that a child’s imagination will turn out for their better when this is properly nurtured and allowed to be free.

In our Learning Center in Maryland, we help children promote their healthy imagination through our activities and programs. For this reason, we encourage parents to provide more opportunities for your child to harness their imagination in order to enhance their cognitive abilities. You can also enroll your child at Severna Park Children’s Centre, Inc. for further exposure.