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Once Upon a Time...
The Importance of Pretend Play
By John Lee
While real "pretend play" doesn't begin until 17 to 18 months of age, you can help get your baby ready for symbolic play with simple peek-a-boo toys and jack-in-the-boxes. Even "farm animal" books read to children encourage them to imitate animal sounds. All these types of play convey to a child that you don't need to have the real object in front of you to have it in your mind. Eventually this leads to a toddler feeding her Madeline doll with pretend food, to the preschooler drawing a picture of an event that happened last week or last year, to the school-age child writing about what they want to be when they grow up – then to the adult who is capable of having foresight, vision and the ability to think outside the box.
When looking for toys that will help your child develop imagination, look for those that lead to open-ended play, not only allowing for, but rewarding the child's creativity. It is precisely this type of imaginative play that many child development experts recognize as helping prepare a child's mind for learning facts and figures as well as preparing his or her mind for life.