Keep using those Halloween costumes year round!
Kids aren’t just living in what many adults would call a fantasy world, instead most of their play has deep roots in reality, and it offers them a chance to practice social situations, adult roles and even play out fears and anxiety in a safe place. – Allison McDonald, No Time for Flash Cards
Pretend play is an important part of childhood. It supports our children’s development in language, motor skills, problem-solving abilities, self-help tasks and most importantly, social and emotional development. Even babies as young as 9-12 months can begin to understand pretend play behaviors.
So, keep those Halloween costumes close by and encourage your children to use their imaginations to pretend many wonderful ideas. Playing dress up allows our children to explore and discover new ideas about themselves and their world.
Our children learn by doing and doing is what pretend play is all about. Be sure to join in and have fun together. It is with adult support our children can better understand important life concepts.
There is nothing better for a child to do than to play.
Photo courtesy of Lyn Lomasi under CC BY 2.0 license.