Pretend play starts early, and shows children’s growth over time

Over half of all children engage in pretend play from the age of one year, new research has revealed, offering valuable insights for those who plan and set up learning and play spaces for children in this age group. 

Led by Professor Elena Hoicka of the University of Bristol, the new research is the first of its kind, and gives new information about how children begin to understand pretence between birth and the age of three years. 

“Our findings highlight how pretending is a complex, evolving process which begins very early on in life, helping their cognitive and social skills to advance,” Professor Hoicka said.

“Pretence is a key part of children’s learning, creativity, making friends, and understanding of other people. This study maps its many different stages and types.”

The findings are based on results from a survey of 900 parents of children aged from birth up to three years of age (47 months) from the UK, US, Australia, and Canada. The earliest reported age when children understand pretending was four months and by the age of 13 months around half were reported to recognise pretence by others. Around half of 12-month-olds were reported to be pretending regularly themselves.

Researchers identified 18 different types of pretending which emerge and progress in the early years. One-year-olds’ pretence was shown to initially involve their bodies (for example pretending to sleep.) 

They may also gesture at objects or make actions, such as brushing their teeth with a finger or pretending with objects for their intended purpose like drinking out of an empty cup.

“This then moves on to pretending one object is another, for instance pretending a banana is a phone,” Professor Hoicka added. 

“This type of pretending really opens up their sense of creative play as they can now imagine any object they want to play with.”

The pretence of two-year-olds’ was reported to show more abstract thought, with children pretending to do things they wouldn’t normally have everyday experience with, like pretending to fly a rocket ship. By this age children use their whole bodies to pretend to be other people or things, including being objects such as a tree or an animal.

“This can include people they know and fantasy characters, such as Spider-Man or Peppa Pig,” the Professor said. 

“As their language skills are also developing, this can help them to pretend in new ways, allowing them to create elaborate storylines when doing so.” 

At the pinnacle of the research, three year olds were reported to be highly creative, often inventing wild scenarios, such as impersonating cartoon characters flying through space. Some were also said to be creating and interacting with imaginary friends.

“While some parents may be over-reporting pretence understanding in the youngest children – at four months – in our sample, the ages at which parents observe these 18 pretence types are largely consistent with previous research findings,” Professor Hoicka said.

The study is the first of its kind to chart how and when pretence evolves from its inception through three years.

“Previous early pretence studies have been observational or experimental, limiting the number of children involved,” Professor Hoicka explained. 

“This new parent-report survey measure has allowed researchers to study a large number of children, which is unheard of using observational or experimental means.”

The researchers hope their work will help parents and early years teachers understand and identify which types of pretence are appropriate to try with children at certain ages, supporting their learning, creativity, and friendships.

“With further research, the findings have the potential to be used as a diagnostic tool for developmental differences in early years,” Professor Hoicka added. 

“This could ultimately help parents, early years educators, and medical professionals better understand how to play with children at different stages of development.”

Find The Early Pretending Survey (EPS): A Reliable Parent-Report Measure of Pretence Type Development for 4- to 47-month-olds here.