CREATIVE HIGHLIGHT
When children are engaged in pretend play such as exploring a cave , using one object as something else ( a Lego brick as a horse , for example ), role-playing , storytelling , playing with puppets , painting , dancing , or any form of creative play , they are developing and strengthening creativity which in turn will help them be more confident , socially and emotionally intelligent , and successful . Pretend play develops through relatively predictable stages . 4 Between 12 and 18 months children perform one pretend action at a time such as pretending to eat . From 18-24 months children can perform simple pretend actions such as feeding a doll with a toy spoon or making a toy horse jump . They also begin to imitate adult actions . Between 24 to 30 months they can combine pretend actions together and act out a series of pretend actions . As imaginations grow , they can use less realistic objects in pretend play , such as a stick for a spoon . From 30-36 months , pretend play becomes more complex . A child may pretend to go to the store , for example , and can also pretend without an object . Between 3 to 5 years , children can make up things which do not exist , such as pretending to be a superhero or a pirate . They start to pretend with other children and take on different roles .
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