ABSTRACT
Young children’s social play may appear to be fraught with disagreements and hullabaloo but it is essential to their development because it teaches them to accept other people’s points of view in a way that their interactions with adults could never achieve. ‘Let’s pretend’ forms a large part of the social play of 3-5 year olds. This play is part fantasy and part imitative role-play and is often called ‘socio-dramatic play’ because it is both interactive and creative. When they act out their unscripted dramas, children are learning a number of vital social skills that include:
How to improvise in conversations. How to make their conversations interesting and active. How to negotiate (often their play will begin with a ‘planning
stage’ along the lines of, ‘I’ll be the witch and run around screeching and you’ll be scared and then . . .’).
