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Learning through imaginary play has long been recognised as a crucially important component of child development. As far back as the 1890s American psychologist and educator, Granville Stanley Hall focused on childhood development with his Child Study Movement. This initiated an interest in the developmental, mental and behavioural world of babies and children through role play.
Role play is an extremely social act, encouraging children to develop the social skills they will need throughout their lives. During role play, children pretend to be something or someone different from themselves. Whether they choose their own role play character, or accept a role assigned to them they learn to negotiate roles and socialise and cooperate with their peers. They learn how to control impulses and how to respect the decisions of others. Children also learn how to copy and practice words they have heard as well as understanding that in order to participate well in the game they need to listen to others in order to respond and follow the game.
Make believe play encourages children to recall their own personal pictures and memories. Whether it is their mum paying for goods at a supermarket or a nurse bandaging their knee at the doctor’s, with imaginary play children recreate these scenes they have built up in their heads and practice solving problems that are often part of these pretend scenarios. In observing, discovering and carrying out deductive reasoning, pretend play is critical for cognitive skills and helping children build the ability to solve problems and draw their own conclusions.
We have a wide range of role play toys that can help bring imaginary play to life. Our role play kitchens have long been a firm favourite. Pretending to be mum or dad cooking in the kitchen, with pretend hobs, utensils, sinks, microwaves and even dishwashers, play kitchens provide the perfect prop to let children’s kitchen-inspired imaginations run wild. Play kitchens are also a great way of encouraging healthy eating at a young age. When combined with our healthy eating play mat, our play food sets or healthy eating jigsaw puzzles children learn to associate the food prepared in the kitchen with their own health and sense of well-being.
Play shops with pretend food, cashiers, shelves and money never fail to ignite excitement in children as they act out being shop assistants and customers. As well as being a great way to encourage interaction and communication, play shops with their pretend money can also help develop numerical skills. In promoting mathematic understanding, play shops are a great preparatory aids for pre-school children. Our cash register with money, deluxe market set, shopping basket, market stall and register with play scales are all part of our play shopping range.
Dolls houses have fascinated children and adults alike for centuries. With their miniature furniture, intricately decorated interiors and moveable roofs, children can have hours of fun playing with dolls houses. In re-enacting real-life scenarios in the home, dolls houses are a fabulous place for children’s imaginations to soar. Not only do we have a range of dolls houses and dolls accessories, but we also feature a range of anatomical dolls and world dolls. The anatomically correct dolls represent a baby boy and girl from 4 ethnic groups – European, African, Asian Indian and Far Eastern (Oriental). The dolls have excellent facial features reflecting the ethnic group they belong to. The limbs are articulated so the limbs can be posed. By playing with these dolls, children are able to better understand their own bodies.
Our range of world dolls represent four world groups – African, Oriental, South American and European. Each world group is represented by a boy and a girl, with each dressed in a style typical to the region. The dolls have soft bodies for a warm and cuddly feel.
Role play encompasses a huge range of diverse products and we encourage you to peruse our full range here.
Originally written 12 July 2016