To Prep Your Child for the Real World, Let Them Pretend!

by Amy Eisenmann View Bio and Helen Hadani, Ph.D. View Bio

Amy Eisenmann

Amy has more than 10 years of experience as an early childhood educator, both in the classroom and the museum setting. In her current role, she focuses on staff professional development, program evaluation, coaching, and consulting for the Center for Childhood Creativity. Previously, she spent six years directing early childhood education strategic initiatives at the Bay Area Discovery Museum and a large science center in the Midwest. She was a classroom teacher, primarily for preschool, prior to her work in museums. She currently sits on the First 5 Marin Commission and was a founding member of the Leadership Team for the Association of Science and Technology Centers Early Childhood Community of Practice. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in music and a Master of Education degree in early childhood education.

Helen Hadani, Ph.D.

As Director of Research at the Bay Area Discovery Museum, Helen authors original research on creative thinking and child development including the white papers Inspiring a Generation to Create, Reimagining School Readiness, and Roots of STEM Success. She launched and manages the onsite research lab at the Bay Area Discovery Museum and partners with U.C. Berkeley and Stanford University to conduct empirical research on cognitive, social, and emotional development, with a focus on creative problem solving. She brings more than 18 years of experience in research and education settings, including years in the technology and toy industries conducting research with parents and children to develop innovative learning products at Hasbro, Apple, Leapfrog, and LEGO. Helen received her doctorate in Developmental Psychology from Stanford University and has taught at U.C. Davis and San Francisco State University.

One of the most joyful experiences as a parent is watching your child use their imagination to turn a cardboard box into a castle or spaceship or pretend to be their favorite scientist or superhero. Pretend play may appear to be a simple activity, but research supports the vital role of this type of play in child development: it allows children to generate and enact original ideas, to practice self-regulation and perspective taking skills, and to get along with others.

Several studies demonstrate a strong relationship between pretend play, the creation of imaginary playmates, and inventing make-believe worlds in early childhood with later creativity. In a study with elementary school students, researchers found that the quality of imagination and fantasy in early pretend play predicted divergent thinking (i.e., generating many possible solutions to a problem) over a four-year period, and later showed that the same relationship persisted into high school with a subset of the original group. Another study found that fourth graders with imaginary companions were more creative on two out of three measures of creativity.

While pretend play tends to be associated with very young children, studies highlight the importance of encouraging pretend play and the creation of imaginary companions in children of all ages.

Research also shows that adults can create environments that encourage children to develop real-world skills through make-believe scenarios and companions. One study looked at how relevant aspects of children’s early environments related to the development of executive function, a consistent predictor of important academic and life outcomes. Executive function skills include memory, self-control, focus of attention, and planning. After collecting information from parents about their 6-7-year-old children’s typical schedules, researchers found a positive relationship between the amount of time children spent in unstructured activities and their self-directed executive function. These findings strongly suggest that providing children with leisure time where they can imagine their own goals and decide on their own what actions to take gives them practice with real-life skills.

In today’s fast-paced world, daydreaming, sometimes called mind wandering, is often seen as a waste of time. However, research has shown that taking time out to focus on something other than the task at hand can help people get out of ruts and make unusual connections that lead to creative solutions. Keep this in mind the next time you see your child staring out the car window.

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