Today Jules had her first ever pretend tea party! We pulled out a princess tea set and after a few minutes of digging through a pile of cute little plates, spoons, cups and creamer holders, Jules picked up a spoon and a tea cup. She dipped the spoon into the cup like there was food in there and extended the spoon to me (offering me to “eat” what was on the spoon)!

Once she was done with me, she fed Peter. Then our cat. Then her bunny lovie. Then she fed her favorite doggy hand puppet. Jules gave our couch a snack. Then it was coffee table’s turn. The blow-up mattress (don’t ask me why we have one in the middle of the living room) munched on Jules’ imaginary dinner too. She was going around the room feeding things. It was so darn cute! Check out the video of her feeding the couch, pillow, coffee table and my phone.

Once Jules went down for the night, I decided to read up on pretend play and here’s what I found.

As it turns out, pretend play is crucial for kids’ development. It helps our munchkins develop skills and learn how to use them in real life. It encourages social and emotional development and teaches empathy. Through cooperative pretend play children learn how to take turns, share responsibility and creatively problem solve. What’s more, at young age children are just beginning to understand the difference between imaginary and real worlds. So, pretend play helps them internalize the distinction between fantasy and reality!

So mommies, encourage your kids’ pretend play and participate in it! Do you have any fun stories to share? How do you help you kids engage in pretend play?