Make believe and role play are a vital part of play for children.  These activities let children guide their own learning and explore ideas. 

With role play children can create a fantasy world or draw upon things they see in their own world whether that’s gender roles, jobs, anything they see in their own environment.  Roleplay helps them understand the world, how they fit in it and helps them build a sense of identity. 

Role play

• Develops imagination
• Expresses Ideas
• Builds understanding of a child’s own individuality

Furthermore, if a child engages in role play with others they develop expressive language and social skills, as they communicate, share, work together in different roles, solving conflicts and considering each other’s opinions and ideas.

  “……roleplay provides a window into thoughts, interest and their view of the world”

They are many toys and activities that can aid role play:

• Pushing a doll in a pram
• Pretending to be a policeman, fireman, builder or superhero!
• Going shopping, choosing items and paying for them
• Working in a kitchen – chopping food, washing pots
• Hosting a tea party
• Playing with a medical set and being a doctor or nurse.

So by having a ‘dress up box’ or toys that inspire role play a child’s imagination and learning can be ignited.  We have a range of toys that are great aids for role play. 

Our tin tea and picnic sets are probably the most popular, we have forest themed, garden themed as well and dinosaur and our construction vehicle themed sets, complete with coffee pot are perfect for the thirstiest of workers!

With a tea set children can bring you endless cups of tea or coffee, they can throw a tea party for their toys or they can pretend they work in a café.  Each of these scenarios will require them to take on a slightly different role, get them using different language, and mean they have to set up for the game and problem solve in different ways.  Tea sets are also great as they get children to practise both fine and gross motor skills so they are good for physical as well as mental development.  It can be quite difficult for little ones to balance a cup on a tray, even if the tea inside is not real.