Abstract
Pretend play is one of the avenues through which children get to experience the world at an experiential level . It is through this form of play that the children get to develop key cognitive skills necessary for fully functional adults. Pretend play can take different forms, but the games have common features such as allowing room for children to vent their feelings and emotions while giving their description of actual and fictional objects. Various theories explain the importance of pretend play, with the Lev Vygotsky’s theory of cognitive development, offering essential insights on the importance of pretend play . Evolutionary theorists also see pretend play as a critical aspect in animals, where adult behavior is rehearsed as a safe setting . The exercise of observing children in pretend play offers adults the opportunity to see the level of cognitive development in children, while showing the therapeutic needs some of the children may have.
Introduction
It is widely known that adults and children experience the world differently. To this end, most of the children experience life at an experiential level as opposed to the cognitive level that the adults experience the world (Joseph, 2014). It is this realization that the concept of play, and especially pretend play is based on. Engagement in play sets the ground for the cognitive requirements of adulthood (Kaufman, 2012). This exercise involved the observation of a group of children involved in different forms of pretend play.
Pretend play can be viewed as a form of creative art. It is an avenue through which observers can note whether children are engaged in creative activity through their behavior during play time (Russ & Wallace, 2013). According to Hoffmann & Russ (2012), years of research have established a strong link between pretend play and creativity. The basis of such findings is the fact that pretend play offers children the opportunity to express different individual processes such as cognition, and interpersonal relations, which are building blocks of creativity. Through pretend play, a child can exercise various cognitive abilities by exploration of imaginary objects, manipulation of substances and use their memories to narrate stories and share emotions. The implication is that pretend play offers children, many advantages to developing their cognitive abilities (Russ & Wallace, 2013).
Pretend play can take a variety of forms. In South Africa, for instance, many of the African children lack toys to play with. Most of the play that the children engage in utilizes objects that are not bought . One of the most widely played games in South Africa is Masekitlana. This is a game that psychotherapists in South Africa have used when trying to solve various psychological problems that the children may have. Masekitlana, in this context, acts as a model of pretend play that children across the globe engage in. In this game, each child is given time to play the game alone. The child playing engages in a monolog, whereas other children within the group listen attentively. The monolog is made up of a variety of items ranging from exciting things, scary ones, description of imaginary objects and situations. An interesting aspect of this game is the fact that it has no specified rules, with virtually no competition. This gives room for children who are withdrawn to participate fully in the game. This is the model which most of the pretend play games take.
The primary activity in Masekitlana involves hitting of stones at different paces and frequency. When talking about the stories that interest them, a child speaks softly, while hitting the stones slowly (Joseph, 2014). This goes in hand with happy expressions. When players talk about aspects they loathe, they hit the stones hard, and at a faster rate. The children also show aggression on their faces, and they become very loud. Another interesting fact is that the game allows the children to express a variety of emotions, with the children virtually detached from the situation. To this end, the children are allowed to project their emotions. The other kids are also allowed to give their comments about the game. These can be expressions of excitement, disgust or even questions. In some cases, the emotions overwhelm the children such that they start crying and end up not finishing the game. Therapists often use these games to measure the psychological well being of the child (Kaufman, 2012).
Theories on pretend play
Various scholars have provided the theoretical framework upon which pretend play can be conceptualized. A chief psychologist who has contributed to the understanding of the impact that pretend play has on children is Lev Vygotsky. In his theory of cognitive development, he notes that children get information from the external world through language. Language is the tool through which external insight is internalized (Lillard et al., 2013). To this end, language is an important aspect through which aspects of culture and history are transmitted. Vygotsky argues that play is an important feature in language development. It helps the child continually develop the understanding of the external world since playtime is a period where the child dialogues with the self and others around (Bergen, 2002). During play, a child converses with the self, since he/she tries to understand the world through inner speech. This is an aspect that is lost in adulthood since the society does not support such forms of individual conversations. Observation of children at play usually shows this kind of dialogue, and this is an aspect that Vygotsky views as helpful in development.
Vygotsky ‘s theory of cognitive development also establishes a link between play and self-regulation. To this end, he notes that a child can take control of aspects such as thoughts and memory (Russ & Wallace, 2013). The implication here is that as a child continues to engage in play, their ability to control a variety of cognitive processes improves. These are aspects that are at a young age controlled by others. A child who engages in play, therefore, has a faster transition from having cognitive processes regulated by others to the processes being governed by the self. Vygotsky notes that a language is a valuable tool in aiding this transition, and all this contributes to the creation of a fully functional adult. A central aspect of Vygotsky’s theory is the role played by social interaction in the development of cognition. He points out that cognitive development takes place in the context of the wider society (Bergen, 2002). Pretend play, in most cases, is an avenue through which children get to express what they have imitated from the adults around them. During the play, they try to take up adult roles and adult speech. When adults observe the children play, they can play the role of guidance, by correcting them and helping them through challenges.
Vygotsky also notes that there is a relationship between play and problem solving. In this respect, there are two different approaches to problem-solving that a child is engaged in. The first is where the child on their own are forced to solve problems on their own and instances where the children are assisted by adults to solve problems (Bergen, 2002). The tasks that are required of the child during pretend play help the child to develop problem-solving skills. When adults intervene, the children are shown the mismatch between their current problem-solving skills, and the skills required to operate in the society successfully. To this end, therefore, the imaginative play comes out as a critical aspect that builds the ability of a child to navigate through problems.
Another theoretical perspective that can be used to understand the role and impact of pretend play is the evolutionary perspective. Evolutionary theorists assert that play has been the avenue through which any kind of animal practices adult behavior (Russ & Wallace, 2013). To this end, playtime significantly improves the creativity in these animals. The play offers a safe haven in which the animals can practice this adult behavior irrespective of positive of negative emotions.
The theory of mind development can be used to understand the developmental challenges that come with pretend play. Researchers have focussed on examining play as an avenue through which children gain perspective. Pretend play involves one actor involves one child giving a presentation of an object from two perspectives. First is the real self-perspective, and the other is the false presentation. All this points at a high level of mental development where the said child can portray differing views and exhibit different sets of emotion (Bergen, 2002). Researchers have made an effort to study the age at which children get to conceptualize and exhibit false beliefs. The results of experimental studies indicate that it is at the ages of 4 and 5 that a child can recognize these beliefs. It is at this age that the said child can re-enact the false beliefs during pretend play (Lillard et al., 2013).
Studies, however, indicate that at a younger age, children already possess the ability to take different roles and transform, objects. During this age, such activities are viewed as mere actions as oppose to being mental representations (Bergen, 2002). A Review of the literature on the theory of mind development indicates that the children seem to understand the thinking of their partners during pretend play. This understanding, however, differs with age, as noted by Lillard et al., (2013). A key aspect of the pretend play is the fact that the period between 2 years of age and 6 is monumental in cognitive development. During this period, a child gradually develops mental representation meaning that presence play is an essential tool for healthy growth in children (Bergen, 2002).
Methodology
The present exercise involved the observation of a number of children who were engaged in various forms of pretend play. The children, aged between one and a half and seven years were allowed to play in a controlled setting, and their behavior observed. A total of 11 players were under observation in this particular exercise, with children of the same age being allowed to participate in different forms of group play. This was instrumental in observing the developmental changes within the different ages.
Results
During the exercise, a number of key observations were made. First, pretend play came out as an important aspect in the development and expressing of cognitive abilities. The children below the age of three were engaged in the playful representation of something as something else. Isabelle and Angus for instance, were playfully representing cleaning up and feeding respectively. This is a show of their ability to imitate what the adults do, and this is a sign of healthy cognitive development.
During the play, the children were able to express feelings and emotions. In the case of Joan and James who had a tea party and engaged in dance, they freely shared feelings of happiness. The three 5-7 year old who played as orphans exhibited the emotion of sadness. All these are signs of emotional intelligence. This observation, therefore, adds to the growing literature that indicates that pretense appears is a natural form of creativity. According to Russ & Wallace (2013), children have very limited avenues through which creativity in everyday life is expressed. Pretend play, as observed in this group of children offers this platform.
Observation of the children revealed two perspectives of viewing pretend play. The first approach is to play as a measure of the creativity within a child. The other perspective is pretend play being an outlet for the creativity the child possesses. As an outlet, the children were able to express their emotions and solve problems. The perspective of pretend play being a measure of creativity on the other hand can be seen in the ability of the children to successfully role play. The five-year old who acted as gladiators, while others pretended to be parents or animals successfully was a show of creativity.
An interesting aspect is the level of complexity of the pretend play as the age of the children increased. The younger ones were engaged in simple activities such as feeding and cleaning up; activities that did not take much mental involvement. The older children were engaged in more complicated activity such as planning a journey, acting as gladiators and pretending to be workers in a factory office.
Language and expression is also a major observation made during this exercise. The younger children, such as Isabel struggled in their expressions. The older children, however, were able to communicate clearly. For younger children, therefore, pretend play is an avenue where they practice their communication skills. Since most of the plays were set within a group, the children learn how to be emotionally supportive. By being allowed to respond and contribute as one of the children is having a monolog, the children learn how to be emotionally supportive to others. Besides, they get to learn about the social nature of the world, while being comforted that distress is an aspect shared by many children.
Another key aspect of this exercise was problem solving. The different plays required children to successfully accomplish tasks such as feeding, helping with dinner and planning a journey. The implication was that the play guided the children towards better development of problem-solving skills.
Discussion
According to Lillard et al. (2013), the evidence that pretend play is an essential tool for the enhancement of creativity among children is unconvincing. A look into the results of correlational studies on the relationship between pretend plays and creativity show high levels of discontinuity. Some of the studies show that creativity comes with a combination of other forms of play such as social or construction play. The argument here is that the equifinality concept postulated by Lillard et al., (2013) comes into play. The inconsistent nature of these studies on pretend play can be as a result of the experiments being conducted in a variety of settings. The settings differed in regards to the toys used and the level of adult interaction. It is, therefore, advisable for the unique settings of studies to be considered when measuring the influence of pretend games on creativity.
A common assumption is that pretend play is tool essential in improving the intelligence scores among children. In the analysis done by Lillard et al., (2013) however, there lacks a strong link between pretend play and improved intelligence. The results indicate that a variety of other aspects such as parental guidance and music have a greater impact on intelligence. These results support the idea of pretend play being an epiphenomenon, meaning that on its own, pretend play has no significant impact on intelligence. On the issue of problem solving, a review of various studies indicates that a combination of pretend play and construction play improves the skill of children to solve problems. Many of the studies indicated that adult intervention was critical in determining whether children had the ability to solve problems or puzzles.
A close connection, however, is established between pretend play and the development of social skills. When a child engages in pretend play, the play acts as a route through which more developed social skills are realized. Pretending, therefore, is an avenue through which a variety of social skills emerge while offering the room for social interaction. Another factor that is heavily linked to pretend play is language development. According to Lillard et al. (2013), a child needs first to engage in pretense before they get the full understanding of the usage of language. This correlation I established since most of the pretend plays require a child to imitate adult actions and speech. Adults observing this kind of play can engage the children by correcting them regarding speech. Gradually, the ability of the children to communicate improves.
An important aspect in pretend play is the capacity to narrate. Most plays require the children to give an emotional account or description of real of fictional objects. Lillard et al. (2013) note that the provision of toys during pretend play does not lead to the creation of new stories, but offers significant help to the development of the skill of storytelling. The studies on the correlation between pretend play and storytelling indicated that the children who engaged in pretense were able to tell more elaborate stories. It is however not clear whether pretend play improves the issue of story comprehension. Another key aspect to be considered when analyzing pretend play is the impact it has on self-regulation. There is a common notion that pretend play improves self-regulation (Hoffmann & Russ, 2012). A review of various studies done on the issue, however, indicates that such a relationship is not entirely supported. This form of inconsistency, according to Lillard et al. (2013), may be an indication of there being other factors that lead to children developing a high sense of self-regulation.
Limitations and conclusion
The main limitation of this exercise is the fact that the influence of the play being in an experimental setting was not considered. The behaviour of the children could have, therefore, been influenced by a variety of undocumented aspects. However, this exercise revealed that pretend play is an important aspect that adults can use to gauge the level of development of essential skills of their children. It is through these games that children get to express their cognitive development. The observations made from pretend play can be used to design therapeutic interventions for children with a variety of psychological needs.
References
Bergen, D. (2002). "The role of pretend play in children's cognitive development.". Early Childhood Research & Practice 4.1, 1.
Hoffmann, J., & Russ, S. (2012). "Pretend play, creativity, and emotion regulation in children.". Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts 6.2, 175-188.
Joseph, M. (2014). "Masekitlana re-membered: A performance-based ethnography of South African black children's pretend play." . South African Journal of Childhood Education 4.1, 18-41.
Kaufman, S. B. (2012). The Need for Pretend Play in Child Development. Retrieved May 13, 2016, from psychologytoday.com: https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/beautiful-minds/201203/the-need-pretend-play-in-child-development
Lillard, A., Lerner, M., Hopkins, E., Dore, R., Smith, E., & Palmquist, C. (2013). "The impact of pretend play on children's development: A review of the evidence.". Psychological bulletin139.1, 1-34.
Russ, S., & Wallace, C. (2013). "Pretend play and creative processes.". American Journal of Play 6.1 , 136-148.
