Question
Why are fantasy and dramatic play important for young children?
Answer
Researcher Vivian Gussin Paley aptly describes fantasy and dramatic play as a fertile habitat nourishing children’s development. When kids transform ordinary objects through imagination, like turning a block into a remote control, it sparks creative thinking and symbolic representation. Enacting dramatic narratives promotes perspective-taking, sequencing skills, story comprehension, and language growth. Socially, pretend play teaches crucial lessons in cooperation, empathy, and conflict resolution as children navigate interpersonal dynamics and rules. Cognitively, socially, and emotionally, pretend play enables holistic learning. As kids bring stories to life through dramatic reenactment, explore social roles, and use creativity to reinvent reality, they experience visceral joy and awe. This integrative process strengthens imagination, cognition, communication, and emotional intelligence through active play. Fantasy and improvisation supply the nourishing habitat where these essential abilities take root.
This Ask the Expert is an edited excerpt from the course Play, Has It Become A 4 Letter Word In Education?, presented by Tere Bowen-Irish, OTR/L.
