Posted on 10/26/2016
Even if it’s counter-cultural, kids really need to play. It’s not just for preschoolers, no matter what your child may think. If you have to trick your older kids into pretend play by asking them to play along with a younger sibling or friend, then do it! Seriously, there’s something special that happens when kids delve fully into a pretend scenario, role, or world. To a point, you can’t manufacture this kind of experience, but you can definitely do some things to encourage it!
Dress-Ups and other Role-Playing Props
Role-playing is an important way kids learn to mimic adults and identify with far-away people and places, real or imagined. Whether or not you’ll end up fostering a child who takes the lead role in a high school play, by encouraging role-playing, you’re helping your child develop many skills. What do you need to do to encourage this kind of play? The following list may help guide you:
• Puppets can help extend story creation from simple narrations to multiple-character stories.
• Dress-up outfits can be purchased, handmade, or makeshift — from fabric scraps, ropes, and paints or markers.
• Props can, again, be the real deal (like old or thrift store kitchen utensils) or ones designed specifically for pretend play.
• Scripts for simple plays can help your creative older kids learn to identify with people from history while having fun with role-playing props.
A Space To Rearrange
Those of us with open floor plans can find it difficult to provide our kids with a “play area” we don’t mind looking, well, creative. That’s why The Bedroom Source offers so many Loft Bed options. Even if you don’t need the extra space for storage, a simple Loft Bed can help you give your child the extra space needed for his or her imagination to run wild. Beyond that, you can offer a few “building materials” from which your child can create the perfect setting for new adventures:
• Cardboard boxes or pre-made “bricks”
• A pre-made Play Tent or a kit to make their own
• Extra blankets, pillows, cushions, and flash lights are always favorite old school additions.
Help Suggest a Plot
Some kids won’t even need a blanket or dress-up clothes to plunge head-long into pretend play. Others might need even more of a push. Once your child has what’s needed to help imagine the right setting and characters, you can suggest a few possible starting points for the plot by reading or watching a movie. Possible follow-up questions might include the following:
• What would you have done differently if you were (a specific character)?
• What do you think might have happened if (a specific part of the story) had gone differently?
• How do you think (some aspect of the story) came about, in the first place?
• What do you think might happen with (a part of the story that wasn’t resolved)?
The Bedroom Source
Located near the Roosevelt Field Mall on Long Island, The Bedroom Source is your source for the best collection of children's and teen bedroom furniture. From flexibly configurable Maxtrix furniture to fashionable Smartstuff collections, The Bedroom Source offers high end furniture and professional design assistance to create the bedroom of your child's dreams.
Contact the friendly staff at The Bedroom Source by calling (516) 248-0600 or by submitting our online contact form. We're a local family owned mom & pop store. When you shop with us, you're dealing directly with the owners. We professionally assemble everything we sell. We deliver to Nassau, Suffolk, the 5 Boroughs, Southern Westchester, Southwestern Connecticut & Northern New Jersey.