Children seem to have less and less time for free, independent play in our society. Many preschools have even become more “academic” in their approach. But independent play, especially pretend play, offers amazing opportunities for children to learn and grow. For instance, pretend play utilizes imaginative scenarios and characters to practice executive functioning skills such as attention span, focus, and problem solving. In pretend play, our children practice the skills of negotiation and compromise, many times arriving at solutions that put adults to shame. Pretend play also allows children to imitate various adult roles, helping them to think about their own identity and see things from other people’s perspectives. In the long run, this can translate into greater understanding, empathy, and compassion as they mature.

Pretend play also provides children with the opportunity to work through and understand difficult situations that arise in their lives. Specifically, children often reenact troubling scenarios through play until they gain a sense of self-control. Play encourages resolutions by allowing children to approach a difficult situation from a variety of perspectives with no “real world consequence” if it doesn’t work out easily at first.

In addition, pretend play introduces children to many adult skills as they imitate various adult roles and jobs. As they pretend together, they share with one another what they know about those roles and so expand their understanding of the duties embedded in the role. They even practice the skills related to the various roles in their play—feeding the baby to eat, putting out the pretend fire, writing a note on their student’s paper, leading a group of soldiers or a team…the possibilities go on. Through play, children learn.

As you can see, our children benefit from free, independent play. It even helps them grow “a head taller” than their chronological age would. With these benefits in mind, it’s a great idea to make time for our children to engage in free, independent play and provide them with the “equipment” needed to engage in pretend play. And then, watch them grow.