*Thanks to Deborah and Company for giving some pretend play items in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own.*
Princesses, pirates, super-heroes — it’s all a part of childhood. Too many times we are caught up with home-schooling, group activities and electronic devices that we often neglect to encourage our kids in the area of pretend play. Sometimes it gets tough to pretend you’re a super-hero without a cape!
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Dreaming and imagining are treasured aspects of childhood. I personally think that the more you let your child imagine and play, the more they will use that creativity in their adult life to accomplish great things. Using the imagination encourages kids to think up new things, explore and and be adventurous. Imagination should never be neglected!
As a mom, I cherish the memories when my younger brother and I would pretend play. We played army, cops and robbers, princesses and princes and more! Those were some of the best moments of my childhood — not the hours I spent playing Super-nintendo. Does anyone even know what that is anymore?
Pretend play also helps kids think outside the box — which comes in handy in real-life. Our family has definitely lived an “outside-of-the-box” life and creativity helped us make the best of it! Adults constantly use their imagination to help them invent new things, visualize, solve problems, enjoy a book or movie, understand others’ perspectives, make plans, come up with ideas, and think creatively. You can be sure that investing in pretend play for your kids is worth the time and money.
Just yesterday I donated one of my scarves for pretend play — to be cut into pieces for the perfect pirate hat. No tears here, only giggles of joy when I saw my son race through the yard with a sword and asking me to paint him on another beard!
Princess dresses are definitely a must. I have been disappointed when I purchased a princess dress, only to find that the material was scratchy, the dress was over-priced and some were even see-through! My girls were thrilled when I found these dresses at Deborah and Company. The quality of material was a huge improvement even over our Disney store princess dress! My nine-year-old did not want to take hers off at night. She said it was sooooo comfortable!
Then, I took a few moments to read the tag on the dress and it explained everything. These adorable princess dresses even come with matching dresses for your daughter’s 18 inch dolls! My girls love their dolls, so this was a perfect choice for our family. You can also grab a gorgeous crown, gloves and other accessories at Deborah and Company.
OK, back to the who and why these dresses were made. Here’s the who: two moms decided to start the company that creates these royal dresses. The two moms were frustrated with itchy, uncomfortable pretend wear that couldn’t be washed. So, they did what any creative mom would do and started a wardrobe line that was “Mom Designed with Kids in Mind.” So, when you snag these dresses, you’re supporting moms like you! Love that!
So go ahead and check out those princess dresses at Deborah and Company and come right back and find out how you can encourage your kids in pretend play.
Welcome back! Those were simply adorable, weren’t they?
If you’re ready to get your kids involved in pretend play to grow their imagination and encouraged them to dream, then let’s do it the FUN way!
Five Fun Ways to Encourage Pretend Play
- Make time for it. Sure, this is simple, but if you are a super-busy mom, sometimes you have to pencil in the important things on your calender — even pretend play. Make sure your kids get several hours in every single week — the more the better! Of course, our rule is school and chores FIRST, then play time. Do you have that rule too?
- Get involved. Kids love it when mom or dad get involved. I love to go rescue the princess or tackle the bad guy when my kids least expect it. They always end up giggling and for some strange reason they want to play even longer than usual!
- Keep a stash of dress-up items available. Big hats, old vests, jewelry, scarves, sunglasses, shoes etc can all fit in a large trunk or box for pretend play. You don’t have to buy everything, you may have a few items laying around the house you neveg use anyway. After you locate some items at home, make a list of what you don’t have and add that to your holiday shopping list!
- Act out a story or movie. Did your family recently finish a book or watch a movie? Encourage your kids to act out their favorite parts! My kids are always acting out scenes from a lesser-known kid movie called Runner to RavensHead. It always makes me smile to see them using their imaginations!
- Get crafty! Lots of kid craft websites offer activities that not only include a craft, but encourage pretend play. Check out a few of my favorites below!
FUN CRAFTING WEBSITES FOR MOMS AND KIDS
Enjoy pretend play and crafting — with your kids!
*Affiliate links have been added so you can snag some pretend play items!*
