Benefits of pretend play as you survive the holiday season.

by Kimberly Batayola 

With the holidays approaching, it is only appropriate that the first blog for Parenting Guru highlights the importance of pretend play, or as the Early Childhood Educator would call it, dramatic play. Also known as fantasy play or imaginary play. No matter what you call it, fantasy play is the work of children. Fantasy play includes children of all ages and all abilities. As adults, if we slow down and observe how the children use their fantasy world to explain situations, then we can start to see the world as they do.

Have you ever heard a child say, “You better not do that Johnny. Santa and his elves are watching.” This is a prime example of how the use of fantasy play helps a child interpret right and wrong.  So you read your child The Night Before Christmas, A Christmas Carol or maybe the popular Elf on the Shelf. And as we do with any fictional character, we bring it to life by giving it parallels into the children’s everyday routines. Cinderella and the mice have to do the chores before the ball. Pinocchio learns the effects of telling a lie. Giving a mouse a cookie, or anything it wants on demand, never solves anything. #seewhatIdidthere

If you want a book to read regarding pretend play, check out A Child’s Work: The Importance of Fantasy Play by Vivian Gussin Paley. This book provides a “detailed reminder of the enormously important role of imaginary play.”

Imaginary characters help us interpret and explain life situations. When parents begin the process of potty training, they find books that take fantasy characters and give them the shared experience. Children with a parent that just deployed for war use deployment books to find understanding in the separation. Daycares and schools work hard to find books with characters of different colors and abilities, so that children are exposed to the differences and more children can relate to the differences. For the holidays, there is the aspect of receiving, but the holiday fantasy characters help the child to understand the importance of giving, especially during the holiday season.

Pretend play challenges children to be as creative as possible. If Santa, and the elves are a lie, then all imaginary characters are also lies. Reading stories about these fantasy characters and encouraging dramatic play is nurturing imagination. The imagination leads to innovation, which is ultimately what companies want from their employees.

Provides verbal stimulation. Children learn to use the words that relate to the situation. For example, a 4 year old boy is playing with his toy cars and imagining a pretend play scenario. He uses words like “semi-truck,” “4x4” and “diesel.”

Pretend play encourages peer interaction, social skills, and group play. During group play, it is likely for children to be similar in age but different interests, abilities, and skills. Pretend play becomes peer tutoring in which those more experienced in the imaginary play role model to the younger child. For those of you that have siblings, or multiple children of your own, you can see peer tutoring best between siblings. The oldest may learn skill of pretend play from classmates, then come home and teach the younger siblings.

Overall, the joy for pretend play is more than an opportunity to interact with friends and play. It gives the children the opportunity to work through scenarios, emotions, and problem solving.

Therefore, believing in the fantasy characters of the holiday is a healthy part of a child’s imagination. When the child becomes of an age where you can no longer pretend with them, that is when you can emphasize more on the giving aspect of the holiday and how they can play a role with children that still believe.

So as we scroll through social media posts or listen to another parent explain why “They don’t participate with their children telling stories of Santa or the Elf on the shelf,” explain to them that you are actively encouraging their pretend play as it relates to the season and the child’s appropriate age. And as each child discovers the next level of Santa, consider this the time to encourage them to pass along the game of make believe.