Latest / Whys & Finds / Why Toddlers Love Pretend Play
Transcript
- Ben: Your toddler puts a stuffed T-Rex in a shoebox and says it's the bus. Then they hand it a block. The block is cake. The T-Rex has to eat it before work. Sound familiar? Ellie: Welcome to Whys & Finds. I'm Ellie. Ben: And I'm Ben. Ellie: Today: why do toddlers love pretend play? Ellie: I'd start with what they're doing when they pretend. They're copying the people around them. Going to work, cooking dinner, saying goodbye at the door. Pretend play lets them try all of that at their own size. Your part is simple. Give them a character they love, then get down on the floor and play along. Ben: So the T-Rex going to work is Mom or Dad going to work. Ellie: Quite possibly. Raising Children Network is an Australian parenting site, supported by the Australian Government. On its page about toddler play, it says: "Your toddler learns by copying what others do – especially you or older children." Ben: Especially you. So the parent writes the script. Ellie: The parent, and any big brother or sister. That's where a lot of the stories come from. Ben: So they're watching more than I thought. Ellie: They are. Listen in sometime. You may hear your own words come back. Ben: Okay, copying I get. But the block is cake. Where does that come from? Ellie: That's the second half. ZERO TO THREE, a U.S. nonprofit that works on early childhood, has a page of tips on choosing toys in the toddler years. It says: "In a child's third year, their creativity flourishes. They enjoy roleplaying as characters like kings or queens." Ben: Third year. So that's the year between two and three, not "at three." Ellie: Right. And the next line sounds a lot like that shoebox story. "They also imagine that objects, like a block, can be something else, like a piece of cake." Ben: Block, cake. They've seen it too. Ellie: They have. A block is cake. A shoebox is a bus. A towel is a cape. Ben: So why do they love it so much? Plain answer. Ellie: The pages I read answer it with copying and imagining. And there's one more thing you can see for yourself. In the game, your toddler decides who goes to work and who eats the cake. Ben: That I've seen. Ben: So what do I actually give them for this? There's a whole aisle of toys that talk, sing and light up. Ellie: ZERO TO THREE has a short line on that. "The more a toy does, the less your child has to do." Ben: Meaning the singing toy does the pretending for them. Ellie: That's how I read it. If the toy already tells the story, there's not much left for your child to add. Ben: So what does leave room? Ellie: The same page says to look for toys they can use to make up and act out stories. And it gives examples. "Examples include dress-up clothes, toy food, action figures, stuffed animals, and dolls." Ben: Stuffed animals. So the T-Rex in the shoebox is doing its job. Ellie: It is. A character sits at the center of a lot of these games. Somebody has to go to work, get sick, go to bed, eat the cake. Ben: A lot of kids have twenty stuffed animals and play with one. Ellie: Often the one they love most. For a dinosaur kid, that's a dinosaur. For a unicorn kid, a unicorn. You don't need twenty characters. You need the right one. Ben: Okay. Back to the copying. A lot of these games are about leaving. "Bye bye, I go to work." Ellie: Right. And when grown-ups leave, what do they do first? Ben: Grab a bag. Keys, phone, lunch. Ellie: So your toddler wants a bag of their own. Here's one practical option. Naturally KIDS makes small backpacks with a removable plush animal on the front. Your child takes the buddy out, and the game starts. Inside, there's room for a snack and a treasure. Ben: So the character and the bag come together. Ellie: Yes. There's a T-Rex or a triceratops, a unicorn, and other animals like a dog, a teddy bear or a frog. Ben: What does a game with the buddy look like, though? Give me one. Ellie: The T-Rex packs a snack and goes to work down the hallway. The teddy bear gets sick, and your child is the doctor. The unicorn has a tea party, and you're the guest who gets the cake. Ben: And when the game is over? Ellie: The buddy goes back on the bag. Next time it comes along to the park, and the story keeps going there. Ben: Okay. So with the Naturally KIDS backpack, the T-Rex goes to work, and the bag is how it gets there. That I can picture. Ben: Can I push back on one thing, though? You said get down on the floor and play along. Isn't it their game? I'd stay on the couch and let them get on with it. Ellie: I'd still get down on the floor. Think back to the Raising Children Network line. Your toddler learns by copying what others do, especially you. If you're in the game, they have someone to copy. Ben: But then I start running it. "Now the T-Rex goes to the store." Ellie: That's the part to watch. Ask, "What does the T-Rex do now?" and do what they say. You're the bus driver, not the writer. You're in the game, and the story is still theirs. Ben: Okay. I came in to say leave them alone. Now I'm the bus driver. Ellie: That's the job. And it's a good one. Ellie: Now, a few different situations. If your toddler already carries one stuffed animal everywhere, start with that one. It's already the main character. Ben: What if their games are all in the kitchen? Ellie: Then give them dinner. Some plastic bowls and a wooden spoon from your own kitchen. The story is dinner, so the props can be dinner too. Ben: And if stuffed animals just aren't their thing? Ellie: Then dress-up from what you already have. An old hat, a big shirt, a pair of your shoes. ZERO TO THREE puts dress-up clothes on the same list as stuffed animals. Ben: And if they love a different animal? Ellie: Then go with that one. The small backpack also comes with a giraffe, a mouse and other animals. Ben: So the story matters more than the stuff. Ellie: Right. Ben: Okay, let me see if I've got it. One: toddlers pretend because they copy us. Raising Children Network says a toddler learns by copying what others do, especially you or older children. Two: ZERO TO THREE says that between two and three, their creativity flourishes, and they imagine a block can be a piece of cake. Three: the more a toy does, the less your child has to do, ZERO TO THREE says. So pick things that leave room for their story. Four: a character they love, like a plush T-Rex or a unicorn, is enough to start a game. And five: get down on the floor and play along, but let them be the boss of the story. Ellie: You've got it. Ellie: That's it for today. A reminder: the voices in this episode are AI-generated. Whys & Finds is made by Naturally KIDS. Ellie: That's today's why. See you at the next find.