Children who demonstrate pretend play ability as toddlers have significantly fewer emotional and behavioral difficulties at primary school, according to a new interdisciplinary University of Sydney ...

“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 ...

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 recent study suggests that toddlers who show stronger abilities in pretend play tend to experience fewer emotional and behavioral difficulties as they enter primary school. Published in the Early ...

From developing social skills to fostering creativity, pretend play in young children is likened to being a "metaphoric multivitamin" in an editorial published in the journal Neuroscience and ...

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 ...

Pretend play begins around 2 years of age, increases around 3-4 years of age, and declines again around 6 years of age, at which time children begin transitioning to playing more games with rules ...

Pretend play is one of the most important ways that children learn about themselves and the world around them. Pretending develops a whole range of skills children will use throughout their lives. You ...

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 ...