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From Imitative Play to Imaginative Play
How Toddlers Develop and Make the Transition
By Shannon McKelden
Experts in child development will be the first to say that play is vital to a child's growth. Babies begin their play by imitating those around them – parents, siblings, other babies. At some point in development, the play becomes less about mimicking others and more about using their own imaginations.
Play teaches children about the world. How things work, how objects are used, the way things respond to manipulation and interaction. Imaginative play builds on what a child has learned with imitative play.
"Both types of play are essential for healthy development," says Dr. JoAnna White, Professor and Chair, Department of Counseling and Psychological Services, Georgia State University and registered play therapist. "One builds on the other. Play is not frivolous, but rather essential to healthy development. It is the child's lens through which he/she processes the world."
Play teaches children a wide range of skills, social, emotional and cognitive, necessary in order to succeed – not just in school, but in life. "These skills are learned best through play, not through flashcards or academic drills!" says Dr. Lawrence J. Cohen, psychologist and author of Playful Parenting (Ballantine Books, 2001). "Imitation teaches them their place in the world – they learn what their minds and bodies can do. Imagination teaches them that they actually don't have to stop with what their minds and bodies can do in the 'real world.' They can use their imaginations to go anywhere in the universe, real or imaginary."
The earliest type of play, imitative play (or reality play) begins with children treating an object as it really is, for example, treating a toy car like a toy car. Imitative play is often very repetitive.