You’ve just become a new parent and people seem to be telling you about different games that you can play with your kid. You find yourself confused. Don’t worry, where there are good toys, there is a way. Your kid is going to love pretend play!
We have it on good authority that those cute flower toys and excavator toys will be great for this purpose. You can also utilize these fun toys and play time to engage in some fitful learning! Let’s dive into the ocean that is pretend play.
What is Pretend Playing?
This play is nothing but you and your kid pretending to be doing something that someone else does. It could be a gardener planting a flower toy or a construction worker digging around with their excavator toy. We have all been trying to act like someone else to amuse another or to show what happned in a conversation, so where do you think this habit started?
Kid’s toys provide the perfect opportunity to start pretend play. However, you can play pretend without having to worry about some pesky toys.
Pretend play is really important for the normal development and early social education of your kid. Don’t get this? Have a look at some of the following.
Benefits of Playing Pretend that You Didn’t Know About!
Get your kid to play pretend. Why do we say this?
You need to read this list to find out how good this playtime can be for your kid.
Learning to Empathize with Others
Want your kid to learn how to thin k about others before they act out? Use pretend play to apply to this situation. This is the best way to teach kids about empathy. You can use pretend play to finish different goals at different ages. For a little one, pretend play can be about teaching them how to smile and for an older child, pretend play can be about different things.
Creating a World of Their Own
Did you know that kids love to play pretend? Kids are very interested in what the people around them are doing and this is what leads to playing pretend.
The little ones love to pretend that they are doing something they saw someone else do earlier. It could be a game play involving them gardening, playing with their flower toy. Or it could be the use of an excavator toy to construct some house they’ve imagined. Toys give the kids proper space to create these little pretend plays. You can get them toys with open ended play possibilities and then watch them work their magic.
Becoming Independent from the Beginning
Let’s be honest, independence to do one’s own chores starts from childhood. You can take pretend play as a chance to teach your kid some skills that will help them become functional adults. From teaching something as basic as helping your children learn how to use plates, cups and glasses to other tasks, pretend play is a gem.
Social Direction for Future Situations
Pretend play helps the brain develop new neural networks. The brain learns how to act in a situation similar to the pretend play. This is why it is important to be on the best behavior around kids. Kids pick up habits from the adults around them and they pretend to be those adults often times. Your child will learn how to act in a given situation from you. Children idealize their parents and elder siblings, so it will be easy for you to see what they’re learning. You can help them pick up healthy social etiquettes quite easily. Get them different pretend toys or open ended building block excavator toys to create pretend play scenarios.
Increase in Mental Word Library
Want to teach your kid about any type of new words? You can create a game around it. Get a excavator toy that follows your word theme to make it easier. Or you can DIY some models to help play out the scenes for the pretend game. Either way, using the words repeatedly is bound to make the new words a part of your kid’s verbal library.
How to Setup the Pretend Playing Scenarios?
We have gathered some make believe games to help you out! Just pick one and use it with your little one. You and your little one are bound to have some great fun!
- Building Blocks are Open Ended Tools
We believe that the best toys and most readily available toys are building block sets. These sets are easily available and a child’s nursery usually has them. Let them pretend to make houses, trees, cars and anything that they can imagine from their building blocks. Encourage them by showing how their blocks can be something out of their imagination. - Playing Pretend Games with Special Themed Toy Sets
Get your kid’s flower toy set, doctor toy set or toy excavator set out for pretend playing. This is the perfect opportunity to teach your little one how to be outside and how to behave at different times. - Blanket Fort to the Rescue!
Everyone loves to have a blanket fort of their own. Build one for your kid and let them play in that teeny tiny fort. For play dates you can even arrange for 2 or more blanket forts. Kids can play neighbors to one another or better yet pretend to be adult living in their own home. - Pretending with Ordinary Stuff
Remember that you don’t always need to buy new toys to for your kids. Kids love to play around with the things they find lying around the house. Just make sure that you give them safe options to play with. Your kids can have a tea party or create ramp for their race tracks, it’s up to them.
Gili Toys is the One Stop Destination For Your Kid’s Pretend Play
Are you wondering about where to go from here? We have just the place for you! Gili Toys’ website has a whole collection of toys that can be great for pretend play. Sky is the limit when it comes to imaginative pretend play and that’s just what Gili Toys believes too!
Gili Toys has everything from a flower toy to spaceships and racecar toys. Just visit their website to get a look. Their toys are made out of nontoxic ABS plastic so you don’t need to worry about safety either.