“What If” and “As If”: Imagination and Pretend Play in early childhood

Abstract

Play is a crucial activity of early childhood and two aspects of it are dealt with in this article.Imagination andPretend Play are interconnected in terms of the interaction process of thought and actions in a child’s intellectual development. but they are quite different as well: imagination to a young child is what problem solving is to an adult: pretend play usually has a theme and often involves other people, either children, dolls. or “pretend people.” Examples are given of both aspects of play and the role of each aspect in the child’s development is described. Imagination is seen as thethinking function of play, the imaginative thinking process which sets the stage for the actual activity of play, a solitary activity within the child’s mind, theWhat If stage of play. Pretend play is seen as play consisting of a child’s understanding and representation of reality, theAs If stage of play. It is discussed how the function of imagination and pretend play changes as the child gets older. The role of the adult as facilitator of both aspects of play is highlighted.