The Importance of Role Play in the Early Years

The most obvious benefit of role play is the way it taps into your child’s imagination and creativity. Because role play encourages them to put themselves in the shoes of someone or something else, it invites them to think for themselves how that person or thing would feel, act, look and behave.

While we’re on this idea of stepping into someone else’s shoes, role play is also great for developing a sense of empathy and respect for others. By asking a younger child to think about the motivations and behaviours of someone else, they start to consider what drives other people around them and how they might feel about things.

And then we have the benefit of enhanced communication skills and the development of new languages. When you immerse a child in a different world through role play, they learn new words and find new ways of communicating via their character. They also learn new skills for coping with challenges and become more resilient as a result.

Finally, we must not overlook the importance of role play in cognitive development and the development of each child’s personality – not to mention their way of seeing the world. At My Ohana, we strongly believe in arming children with respect for themselves, their mind and body, their local environment, and the world beyond them.

Through role play games and experiences, we proactively push children to come up new ideas and make decisions, to express themselves with those around them, and to learn more about cultures and lifestyles that they may not be familiar with.

Children of nursery age are open to and willing to learn, with this being the best time of their life to expose them to new things and to fresh perspectives. Role play not only makes this possible, but also makes it fun and immersive.

We often don’t need to tell children to come up with and imagine new characters when playing games together – they do this of their own accord.

However, alongside providing the tools and environments that they can safely play and explore these new personas in, there are other ways that we prioritise role play.

·        We place immense value on story time, and often take this to the next step by acting out different parts of the children’s favourite books

·        We offer a flexible nursery schedule that allows the children to come up with their own activities and games. Rather than forcing them to follow set timetables and play at dedicated times throughout the day, putting the power in their hands lets them negotiate and set their own boundaries

·        We equip them with props and creative spaces in which to explore different scenarios

·        We host group play afternoons, where everyone has a role

Finally, we listen to both their children and their parents, regarding what different children are interested in and inspired by. Recognising that every child is unique and should be celebrated as such, knowing what they love and are passionate about allows us to make sure the nursery is equipped with tools and resources with all in our care.

To find out more about role play and other activities at My Ohana, get in touch with our nursery team today.