Social Development in Dramatic Play

Socially, preschool children begin playing with each other instead of alongside each other. This is called cooperative play. A major component of cooperative play is dramatic play which is pretending or making believe. This type of play occurs when children act out roles themselves and when they manipulate figures such as small toy people in a dollhouse. Dramatic play is enhanced by props that reflect cultural diversity.

Some children need help developing the social skills necessary for cooperative and dramatic play. They may need practice taking turns and the “me first, then you” patterns involved in this play. Remember that children are not born with these skills; they are learned. Teachers need to model and teach the desired social skills.

When children come together in a dramatic play experience, they have to agree on a topic (basically what “show” they will perform), negotiate roles, and cooperate to bring it all together. And by recreating some of the life experiences they actually face, they learn how to cope with any fears and worries that may accompany these experiences.

Children who participate in dramatic play experiences are better able to show empathy for others because they have “tried out” being that someone else for a while. They also develop the skills they need to cooperate with their peers, learn to control their impulses, and tend to be less aggressive than children who do not engage in this type of play.

 Creativity in Dramatic Play - 3 hours