Best Toys

Pretend play is great exercise for a child’s imagination.  Unlike the structure imposed by board games, video games, and standard toys such as cars and train tracks, pretend play can let children’s imaginations run free as they decide what happens next.  Many parents start their children off very young with pretend play just by letting them pound on pots and pans with wooden spoons.  As they get older, pretend play can be making mud pies for pretend dinner.  Almost every parent remembers “playing house” as a kid.  Now there are a variety of great pretend play toys available to create endless possibilities in pretend play.

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Pretend Play Kitchens

There are pretend play kitchens available from many different companies.  Some are made of thick, durable plastic, and some are made mostly of wood.  Favorite kitchens have a freezer and refrigerator, a microwave, an oven and a range, a kitchen sink, and cabinets to store dishes and cookware.  There are also many different kinds and brands of child-size table and chair sets available, so kids can sit around the table and pretend to eat the pretend meal they’ve prepared.  A great pretend kitchen can be fully stocked with pretend play toys such as pots, pans, cooking utensils, plates, glasses, silverware, and lots of pretend food- including pretend canned goods and pretend fresh foods like meat and vegetables.

Pretend Play Food

Pretend Play House

This is a favorite pretend play game, and there are lots of pretend play toys to add to the fun.  Playhouses are available in many different colors and sizes, and some even have more than one room.  They can be kept outside, or in a play room if you have one.  If you have an extra room in your house, you can set up the room to be the ultimate pretend playhouse and the kids will absolutely love it.  Start with a pretend play kitchen and dining table in one corner, and stock it with all the proper accessories.  In another corner, set up a child-size couch, a couple of child-size recliners, and a small TV cart with a working TV and DVD player for a little living room.  In another corner, add a nursery complete with baby dolls, clothes, a doll crib, and even a little baby doll swing- that can be the baby’s room.  As a final touch for pretend Dad, a large closet can be made into a workshop with a pretend play workbench and lots of pretend play tools.  The kids could be content to play in this ultimate playhouse for hours and hours.

Pretend Play Market

Pretend play toys are available to let the kids “play store” too.  Little pretend shopping carts, play shelves meant to look like shopping aisles, packaged pretend food, and even little pretend cash registers and play money are all pretend play toys that give your child his or her own little shopping center where he can buy all the supplies for the pretend house.  This is a valuable opportunity to teach kids about money and budgets.  They’ll learn something important and not even realize they are learning.

One of the very best things about pretend play is that Mom and Dad already know how to play this game, so they can join in with the kids.  Mom can play the cashier at the store and Dad can play the handyman.  Or for a change, a little girl can play the Mommy and Mom can play the daughter.  This second one is a great idea, and handy because you’ll quickly find out what you sound like to your kids.  People learn how to be parents by watching their own parents, and you’ll find out what your kids are learning from you in a pretty eye-opening fashion.  No matter what pretend game you end up playing with the kids, it’s a great family activity for families with small children, and there simply is no better way to bond with your kids than to play with them.

Pretend Play Dress-up

Doctor

Princess

Fire Fighter

Hannah Montana

Little girls may be perfectly content to wear Mommy’s clothes and shoes for dress up, but oversized apparel can lead to tripping and falling. There are so many pretend play toys available for dress-up that there is no need to improvise.  In the playroom, a child-sized armoire can be filled with enough costumes that a child can dress up as a different person every day of the month.  A little girl can be a ballerina one day, a princess the next, a doctor the day after that, and then a cowgirl.  A little boy can be a doctor one day, a firefighter the next day, a cowboy the day after that, and then a police officer.  The possibilities are truly endless.  They can even dress up like a dinosaur or a wild animal.