Your kids can become great learners & build other skills through dramatic play!
I’ve written before about the value of pretend play. Among the MANY benefits, pretend play builds vital “executive function” (EF) skills. That means skills like paying attention, waiting patiently, taking turns, and making a simple plan (and sticking to it).
Whether you realize it or not, YOU already know ALL about EF skills: We long to see those skills develop in our toddlers when they want toast, cry during the wait, then no longer want toast… We plead for those skills as we remind a preschooler (for the 3rdtime) to put on their shoes. We hope to see them in our older kids as they plan grand projects and we wonder if they will leave them half finished…
We ourselves use those skills daily as we wait patiently, plan out meals, decide what is best for our kiddos, and listen closely to little lisping voices. Those thinking, reasoning, planning, and self-restraint skills naturally grow over time, beginning in childhood, and they make learning (and many other tasks) easier and more effective.
Unfortunately in the US, academic pressure begins at young ages, often at the expense of classroom playtime. Ironically, that’s the very same playtime that could help kids improve their social and EF skills. (D’oh!)
Whether we plan to send our kids to school or teach them at home, making time and space for creative playtime at home is not just healthy, but great preparation for kids’ futures. That same playtime prepares them with skills for future learning, self-control, and improved reasoning—as well as giving them a REALLY fun childhood! What’s not to like?
What kind of play boosts EF best?
It’s worth noting: activities that children initiate and direct for themselves benefit EF skills the most. (That means play is chosen, done by, and continued by the kids, independently from us adults).
Just staying busy and active alone doesn’t build EF: while sports and adult-structured activities (like soccer, dance, theater camps, etc.) have genuine benefits for mental and physical health, they don’t build all (if any) aspects of executive function. That’s mostly because adults do all the planning or structuring of those activities—the kids are just following along.
If you’re looking for permission to free up time in your family’s schedule and just slow down, this is it! Making time for unstructured playtime is a GOOD thing.
The most beneficial kind of play for social and EF skills is also the most fun and absorbing: early childhood experts call it “scaffolded mature sociodramatic play.” That’s a fancy term for dress up and roleplay with involved scenarios. What makes it “scaffolded and mature” is that the children return to their roleplay scenarios over time, and gradually make them more and more complex. It can involve several kids and last over days (or even weeks!). And… this beneficial play comes from the kids without (much) adult interference.
But… how? When a toddler zooms flightily from toy to toy, it’s hard to imagine any kind of extended or independent role-play. How does this “unicorn” of beneficial play even begin? Another question comes to mind, too: if we aren’t planning (or paying for others to lead) activities ourselves, what role do adults even play? Can we help kiddos engage in rich, detailed, and enriching child-directed play, but without interfering?
Yep! The trick is to follow the child’s interests and add comments or questions that enhance but don’t direct their play. I’ll have specific suggestions in the next blog post.
For now, I leave you with this: which of the following would be a better conversation starter with a child? Why could that be?
- “Hey, you’re a pirate!”
- “Can you show me how you put your hat on?”
- “Can you show me how pirates wake up in the morning?”
Zip on over to the next blog for tips on how to chat with kids to enrich–but not direct–their play. And browse here for a creativity-boosting costume for your own favorite little pirate!
Hi! I’m Jane, owner of The Rowdy Ladybug. I design and produce costumes and playthings for kids. Since I’m a parent like you, I know children’s products need to be FUN, washable, durable, safe, and comfortable. Everything I make is designed to exercise a child’s imagination while getting in their way as little as possible. To that purpose, I don’t use commercial characters or others’ copyrighted designs. I do what I can to keep my business as green and as local as possible.
I live in Washington, PA USA, with my husband and daughter. They tolerate my piles of fabric and occasional excited babbling when I create something new. We are supervised by two cats, who do a better job of holding down the furniture than keeping me out of trouble.
If you have questions about my shop, my blog, or my creative process, I’d love to hear from you!
