Pretend play that involves uses of the imagination to create a fantasy world or situation can be fun for preschool children, but a new study finds that it is not as crucial to a child's development as ...

A new study has uncovered the ways different types of play are linked to children's social abilities and brain activity. The ...

Researchers say there is evidence infants are exploring the world of make-believe before they're even aware they are doing it. A new study exploring the origins of pretend play suggests infants ...

Many people often think of play in the form of images of young children at recess engaging in games of tag, ball, using slides, swings, and physically exploring their environments. But physical play ...

Pretend play is associated with a host of enhanced cognitive abilities such as executive function, language and perspective taking, which are important to education, making the minimization of pretend ...

“Let’s pretend to be…” is commonly heard from young children as they play and interact at school, daycare, or at home. Many adults encourage imagination and creativity but others are afraid that ...

Children who are better at pretending could reason better about counterfactuals—they were better at thinking about different possibilities. Blend Images / Getty Images Walk into any preschool and ...

It helps them make sense of the world, as they put into practice the situations they've experienced elsewhere, for example feeding dolls or brushing teeth. Using props like toys or household items.

Young children love to engage in pretend play of real-life occupations. Help your children create their very own restaurant. Gather restaurant props (aprons, plastic spoons, forks, cups, plates, trays ...