When a child turns a cardboard box into a spaceship, or a stick into a magic wand, it may look like simple fun. But beneath the giggles and dramatic voices, something far more powerful may be ...

Children who demonstrate pretend play ability as toddlers have significantly fewer emotional and behavioral difficulties at primary school, according to a new interdisciplinary University of Sydney ...

From developing social skills to fostering creativity, pretend play in young children is likened to being a "metaphoric multivitamin" in an editorial published in the journal Neuroscience and ...

A recent study suggests that toddlers who show stronger abilities in pretend play tend to experience fewer emotional and behavioral difficulties as they enter primary school. Published in the Early ...

Pretend play that involves uses of the imagination to create a fantasy world or situation can be fun for preschool children, but a new study finds that it is not as crucial to a child's development as ...

Researchers say there is evidence infants are exploring the world of make-believe before they're even aware they are doing it. A new study exploring the origins of pretend play suggests infants ...

Preschool-age children are most engaged in pretend play 10–15 minutes after playing begins. In addition, girls exhibit higher organizational skills, according to a study conducted by researchers from ...

A University of Sydney study tracking over 1,400 Australian children found that toddlers with strong pretend play skills had fewer emotional and behavioural issues in primary school. The link ...

Julia Wolf analyzes the importance of pretend play for exploring the development of social cognition. The ability to adopt another person’s perspective is important for social cognition and, ...