The positive effect of pretend play

Imagination: Let's play pretend
In pretend play, your toddler may begin to use one object to represent another. She might drink from a seashell, for example, or pretend a box is a stove to cook on. This symbolization is an important milestone in her emotional and cognitive development.

There are many good reasons to encourage your toddler's imaginative play. Toddlers who learn to use their imaginations are better able to entertain themselves and less likely to become bored. Imaginative play promotes their verbal and social skills because they use words to advance the plots for their characters and interact with stuffed animals, dolls, and other toys. Your toddler may enjoy dressing up in hats, vests, and other clothing for costumes and finding props to put on a performance.

In pretend play toddlers develop problem-solving skills because they try to predict "what happens next" and to use objects creatively as props to move their stories forward. Toddlers might also reveal their fears and worries in their fantasy play, which might release their concerns or give them a sense of control over them. Be attentive to these nuances, because their play is a way of communicating when they don't have the vocabulary to describe their thoughts and feelings.

Put TV in its place
How much television or videotapes your children should watch is an issue that all parents discuss. There's evidence that viewing violence on television, even the violence in cartoons, increases children's aggressive play because children imitate the behaviours they see. But the broader issue is whether excessive TV viewing deprives your toddler of the tremendous benefits to be gained through a wide range of play activities. If your child is watching TV, he's not running around, playing with other children, drawing, reading stories, building castles, or otherwise exercising his body and stimulating his imagination, mind, and feelings.

Playing should involve active doing and learning, not just passive watching. Look at TV as one small part of your toddler's overall play activities, and establish, then monitor, the types of program that your toddler views. Choose programs that are appropriate to his age and that reflect your family values. Make TV time interactive by discussing the programs you watch with your toddler.

Enforcing limits on TV watching will be easier and more effective if you have play activities planned for when his TV programs are over. Set a positive example by using TV in the way that you want your child to use it -- for information as much as for entertainment. With forethought, your selection of programs turns TV viewing into more of a learning experience and less of a baby sitter.