During October, many parents and educators debate whether and how to participate in Halloween.  Concerns typically relate to young children’s difficulty understanding that masks do not change a person’s identity and to the fact that many families in our diverse society do not share the religious or cultural traditions related to Halloween.  Whether or not one chooses to celebrate Halloween, it is important to acknowledge the value of “dressing up”, “role playing”, and “dramatic play” in development.

Two year olds often pretend to cry, sleep, and eat, and they begin to include stuffed animals or dolls in the process.  Objects become symbols in this play when something like a block is used as a pretend car, a phone, or a sandwich. During the preschool years, children begin to include peers in dramatic play and assume roles based on their experience.  Typically, this begins with roles related to home and gradually expands to include roles of community helpers, animals, etc.  As children mature, both the length and complexity of play increases, and children become able to flexibly shift between verbalizations within the pretend context and the real world (e.g., “This is Mission Control; can you hear me?” vs. “You be the astronaut, and I’ll be Mission Control.”).

Dramatic play offers opportunities for acquiring skills in all developmental domains.  Children learn to express and cope with emotions as they work through fears and worries in the safe context of play (self-esteem & independence).  They practice negotiation and compromise while enacting diverse roles (interaction & cooperation).  They have opportunities for listening and expressing their ideas verbally, as well as using body language (communication).  Because our pretend play options often relate to the theme currently being studied, children work on enacting their understanding of new concepts and formulate hypotheses about the way the world works (discovery & exploration).  Pretend play contexts offer lots of ways to strengthen small motor skills involving eye-hand coordination and tool use, as well as the skills involved in dressing and undressing (physical capabilities).  Imaginative options in dramatic play include creating stories, constructing props like the spaceship pictured here, moving in ways that fit the role, and perhaps even singing or making up songs (artistic expression and appreciation).  Wow!  There’s no such thing as “just play” because every car trip or moon landing or doctor’s visit involves a myriad of possibilities for learning.  I hope you’ll take the opportunity to observe pretend play in action at school or at home one day soon.

The Children's School, MMC 17, Pittsburgh, PA 15213

(412)268-2199 email: labsch@andrew.cmu.edu
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