Sometimes called make-believe play, pretend play is when children use ideas, toys, or other objects to imagine scenarios, assign roles, or mimic what they see adults do. For instance, playing "house," pretending they're a parent taking care of a baby doll, having a tea party, or acting as a teacher with their stuffed animals as students.

Research has shown pretend play is super important for:

• Language development and social skills
• Creativity and narrative skills (imagining stories and ideas)
• Regulating emotions
• Reasoning, executive function, and problem-solving

There are a couple of main types of pretend play: imaginative and role-playing.

Imaginative Play

Sometimes called dramatic play, imaginative play is a broad category. It involves any screen-free activity where a child pictures themselves doing or being something else—and acting it out. For example, they might raise their arms straight out to their sides and run around pretending they're an airplane, making plane noises and dodging obstacles along the way.

Imaginative play can also involve toys, like soaring an action figure around the room or doing voices for rubber duckies in the bathtub. It could even be as simple as pretending to go to bed and fall asleep, then acting out waking up like it's morning time.

Role-Playing Activities

Slightly older children may start assigning roles to themselves, their parents, siblings, or friends during pretend play. This is a type of dramatic play known as sociodramatic play. The activity might involve a sequence or specific steps with a plan for each role.

For instance, a child might pretend they're a doctor and their parent is the patient. Mimicking their own experience visiting a pediatrician, they may call your name from the "waiting room," then do a series of pretend checks or treatments, like taking your temperature, administering a shot, or checking your heart beat.

If this sounds familiar, you might know how frustrated kids can get when the sequence isn't completed or someone breaks from their role. This is normal and only part of a child wanting to make sure each step goes as planned.

Solo vs. Interactive Pretend Play

Pretend play can be solitary, meaning the child is playing alone, or interactive, with a family member, friend, or multiple other people.

Solo pretend play can involve toys, household objects, or just a child's body. A young child might tuck their favorite stuffed toy into bed, gallop around on a broom like they're riding a horse, or crawl around meowing like a cat.

Interactive imaginary play often involves assigning different roles. For example, a child might shop at a pretend grocery store while their friend pretends to work at the checkout counter.

Pretend play starts younger than you may think. A 12-month-old holding a toy truck and making "vroom-vroom" noises is pretending the vehicle is driving on a road. Around 16 months, they might hold their parent's phone up to their ear and pretend to make a call.

Solo play usually happens first. When toddlers are about 2 years old, they start parallel play. This is when two or more young children play independently in the same room, while sitting next to each other, or even with the same set of toys.

By age 3, many children begin interactive pretend play with friends and family members.

Our blog also has ideas for getting your kids to play independently so you can take a much-needed moment.

Pretend play is a vital component of child development. As noted, it helps kids form cognitive (thinking) skills while allowing them to explore social interactions, use their imaginations to tell stories, and solve problems.

At a young age, children can understand that their make-believe scenarios aren't reality, but they can still learn about the real world from acting them out. With the grocery store game mentioned above, kids can learn about buying food items and that payment comes before getting a receipt.

Pretend play encourages emotional development by allowing children to express how they feel and what it means to care for others. Children can be creative by building imaginary scenarios and storylines, planning what will happen next, and working on their problem-solving skills when the unexpected happens.

The benefits of pretend play are virtually endless.

There are a few exceptions (like kicking a soccer ball around), but most types of play for young children are pretend play. You can encourage it at home by helping your kids come up with ideas, engaging in role-playing with them, and finding toys or other items around the home that can be used in imaginative games.

One classic idea is building a fort in the living room and pretending it's a house or camping tent. Even something as simple as a big cardboard box can be used as a pretend car, dog house, office, pirate ship, you name it.

Maisonette is a family-focused brand founded by moms who know firsthand what young children need, like, and enjoy at every stage. We carry products from a medley of brands, including many that foster pretend play, support infant developmental milestones, and help answer questions like "What is cooperative play?" and "What are cognitive development activities?”

Explore our collection of brands for pretend play, like Great Pretenders, Tender Leaf Toys, Teamson Kids, Super Smalls, Meri Meri, and Wonder & Wise by Asweets.

From dragon and unicorn dress-up sets for fantasy play and pretend makeup kits to pizza-making setups and play fishing boats, we have something for every child and every imagination.

Explore our carefully curated toys and play selection today.

Sources:

Lillard AS, Lerner MD, et al. (2013). The impact of pretend play on children's development: a review of the evidence. Psychological bulletin, 139(1), 1–34. doi.org/10.1037/a0029321

Bredikyte M and Brandisauskiene A. (2023). Pretend play as the space for development of self-regulation: cultural-historical perspective. Frontiers in Psychology. doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1186512

Weisberg D. (2015). Pretend Play. Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Cognitive Science. 6. 10.1002/wcs.1341.

Elias CL and Berk LE. (2002). Self-regulation in young children: Is there a role for sociodramatic play?. Early Childhood Research Quarterly. doi.org/10.1016/S0885-2006(02)00146-1

Fantasia V, Moncalli F, et al. (2024). Shared Construction of Social Pretend Play Sequences at the Kindergarten. Europe's journal of psychology, 20(2), 116–128. doi.org/10.5964/ejop.12443

Brigano MO. (2011). Parallel Play. Encyclopedia of Child Behavior and Development.