Encourage Pretend Play - The Hanen Way

by Elaine Weitzman and Jane Greenberg

Playing the "Hanen" way means getting down to your child's level and playing like a child yourself. By following the simple tips below, you will be stimulating your child's pretending skills and language, and the two of you are sure to have fun in the process!

• Be face-to-face (on the floor, across from each other at a table, etc). In this way, your child will feel connected to you, and he will be able to see your face, gestures, and pretend actions.
• Observe your child's interests. After you have put out a few pretend toys, watch and see what catches his interest. If he picks up a toy phone, play with it. If he starts to push a truck, play trucks. Your child will be motivated to play with you if you follow his lead.
• Don't put out too many toys at once. This can be overwhelming to some children. Select a few key toys that you think your child may like.
• If your child doesn't know how to pretend yet - you might need to start off the play. Pick up a toy your child likes and do one simple action yourself to give your child the idea. For example, you could demonstrate some self-pretend (see above) by picking up a toy cup and pretend to drink, saying "mmm…yummy juice". Then put the cup in front of your child and wait to see if he imitates you. If he doesn't, that toy may not interest your child. Try to observe your child's interests to determine if something else might be more interesting to him.
• Imitate your child's pretend actions. Observe what your child does with his toys, and then imitate his actions. This will likely motivate your child to do more pretend actions! Eventually, you can try introducing a new but related action to the play. For example, if your child has been pushing a dump truck, you can try adding some blocks to the back of the dump truck and dumping them out. Do this once, then wait to see what your child does next.

If your child doesn't know how to pretend yet, you might need to start off the play.  

• ​Keep it simple. There's no need to introduce too many new pretend ideas at once. Children love repetition and learn from it, so they will likely enjoy practicing any new pretend actions over and over again.
• Don't just watch from the sidelines – get "into" the play! It is easy to become a "narrator" when playing with your child, and provide a play-by-play from the sidelines about what your child is doing. A narrator says things like "Oh, you are feeding the baby. You are taking such good care of your baby". If you have a toy in your hand and play yourself, it will ensure that you are "in" the play and playing with your child, not on the outside providing narration. Being "in" the play gives your child more chances to learn because it allows for more interaction and conversation.
• Take turns. When children aren't pretending very much, it's easy to take over the play in an attempt to show your child what to do. After you have done something with your toy, be sure to pause and wait so that your child can have a turn to do something. In this way, your play together will be a back-and-forth "conversation", in which each of you has a chance to say or do something.

 Every time you go somewhere new with your child, this becomes the raw material for pretend play. 

• Introduce new ideas. For children who can link some familiar pretend actions together, the goal is to encourage less familiar themes. For example, if a child enjoys pretending with vehicles, you could introduce a less familiar theme by having the cars break down and taking them to the mechanic. Or perhaps superheroes could drive the cars as they save the day! Or if a child enjoys doll play, you could introduce the idea of a fairy coming to visit the doll, or maybe the doll could visit a castle to see the princess.
• Expose your child to new experiences. Every time you go somewhere new with your child, this becomes the raw material for pretend play. A trip to the zoo can spark a whole new play theme for your child. Books also allow you to introduce imaginary themes to your child which can be incorporated into pretend play.
• Choose the right toys. For ideas about selecting toys that encourage pretend play, read the article "Toys that kickstart the imagination ."

By getting in touch with your own "inner child" and using your imagination, you will discover a new way to connect with your child. When you follow your child's lead, you will learn more about your child and his play interests. Your child will be very motivated to play with you in this way and feel very connected to you. And while it may look to others like you two are just messing around with trucks on the floor, you are really helping your child think symbolically and develop critical thinking skills that he will use throughout his life.

​Reference
Weitzman, E., &  Greenberg, J. 2002. Learning Language and Loving It: A guide to promoting children's social, language, and literacy development in early childhood settings. Toronto: The Hanen Centre.

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