Why is Dramatic Play Important in Early Learning?

Dramatic play, also referred to as pretend play or make-believe, is a favorite early childhood activity. Children playing house, pretending to talk on the phone, or taking care of stuffed animals to act out the role of a doctor are all examples of dramatic, or pretend, play. While many of us are familiar with what it looks like, you might be less familiar with why this specific type of play is so important for early development.

What is Dramatic Play?

When children take on a role or character of someone other than themselves, they are participating in dramatic play. Sometimes the child imagines themselves as a character in a real-world situation or in a scene from a television show or storybook. 

According to Ashley Brooks, author for Collegis Education and Rasmussen College, there are two different types of dramatic play: structured and unstructured. In structured pretend play, children are given scenarios with specific guidelines, such as playing in a pretend doctor’s office or kitchen. Unstructured pretend play gives children the freedom to choose both their roles and the scenario. While these two types of dramatic play are different, both are important to development during a child’s first 5 years.

Why is Dramatic Play Important?

Dramatic, or pretend, play supports social-emotional, language, and cognitive development by providing opportunities for children to practice important skills with peers. Engaging in group dramatic play encourages children to practice cooperating, negotiating roles, sharing ideas, working together to solve problems, and building conflict resolution skills.  

During pretend play, children draw upon past experiences and events to act out activities and learn how to cope with any fears or worries that might be associated with those experiences. Dramatic play engages abstract thinking and imagination, and supports cognitive development. Bright Horizons shares that children can also develop math and literacy skills through dramatic play. For example, by pretending to be in a grocery store, children are required to sort foods, communicate about the prices of different items, and use writing skills to create signs and labels.

Dramatic Play Encourages Empathy

Tinkergarten describes pretend play as “the way that children learn to take different perspectives. When a child makes believe that he is a mama bird, a monster, or a firefighter, he starts to explore what it must be like to be that other person or creature. Even though pretend play starts quite simply, early experiences with pretending form strong roots of perspective-taking from which more sophisticated cognitive empathy can grow.” 

When children engage in dramatic play or pretend play with their peers, they get to imagine their own character’s feelings. They also become accustomed to paying attention to the words and feelings of the other characters so they can choose how their character will respond.

Inspiring Children’s Interest in Dramatic Play

There are plenty of ways to cultivate this type of learning! View our list below for some ideas to get started. 

• Set up a prop box. Consider creating a prop box filled with objects to spark children’s imagination. A Scholastic article suggests including old clothes (shoes, hats, bags, backpacks), old telephones, cooking utensils, dishes, fabric pieces and blankets, and writing materials. 
• Expand on children’s experiences. Listening to children’s stories and creating a dramatic play center that builds upon those stories gives children an opportunity to explore real-world scenarios in a safe and fun environment. For example, if children share that they are nervous about going to the doctor, set up a pretend doctor’s office that allows children to try out what it might feel like to go to the doctor’s office. Through dramatic play, the children can ask questions, share their experiences with peers, and gain confidence as they become familiar with what to expect. 
• Go outdoors. Nature offers a great environment for make-believe. Tinkergarten notes that the outdoors come “complete with inspiring places to run, hide, climb, and an endless array of compelling objects that can become anything they need to be.” 
• Build on children’s interests. Many young children are fascinated by trucks and construction. You might set up a construction site dramatic center, or take shovels and trucks outside to the sandbox or grassy dirt area and invite the children to dig their own construction site! For additional car and truck-themed play and learning activities, check out the G2K article, Vehicle Exploration! Using Cars & Trucks to Spark Learning.
• Animal lovers might enjoy playing veterinarian with stuffed animals and a play doctor’s kit, or pretending to go on an under-sea adventure, like the dramatic play center described in this G2K article.