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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

How important is imaginative/pretend play in a just 2 year old who shows little sign of interest in it so far?

26 replies

Pascha · 31/10/2012 09:42

His taste for playing is much more riding toys, pushing toys, building and taking apart stuff, blocks/duplo in towers. If you guide him towards imagining stuff, pretending to push the broom, playing telephones, playing rockets in a big box, whatever, he just walks away. Doesn't get it at all and doesn't want to.

How do I gently introduce the concept of imagination to such a straight-minded literal boy? Can anyone give me some good games to try without putting him off completely?

Or should I just embrace the engineer/builder I seem to have and accept that maybe this is his idea of imagination?

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Sparklingbroomstick · 31/10/2012 09:45

My two were exactly the same Pascha. they didn't do much 'playing shops' or pretending to do real life stuff/dressing up etc. The only exception was DS2 had a toy KFC counter and he played that for a bit.

Lego, stickle bricks, painting, being outside, driving the Little Tikes car was where it was at. It was fine. I think they both avoided the 'home corner' at preschool too.

13 and 10 now and all good.

Sparklingbroomstick · 31/10/2012 09:46

The imagination certainly comes out in their creative writing now too.

Original poster

Pascha · 31/10/2012 09:56

That makes me feel better Sparkling. He is positively repelled by the craft table at playgroup, the toy kitchen, dressing up box, all of that. Likes things with wheels, and ways of propelling them (by gravity if available to him ) likes running round like a loony with other kids, chasing them, likes taking stuff apart and trying to recreate it, puzzles, logical stuff.

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Runningblue · 31/10/2012 09:59

All of a sudden ds - aged 3.5 - is really quite into imaginative play. I think they'll only do it when they fancy/are ready.. I think you're doing just the right thing as youre being open to it, and he will show you he's interested when he's ready...

Original poster

Pascha · 31/10/2012 10:03

We are playing destruction derby on the kitchen table with two cars pitted against each other head on right now, but if I stop for a moment to type he starts lining them up instead. Doesn't take the idea and try it by himself.

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Sparklingbroomstick · 31/10/2012 10:37

Ooh the lining up. My two loved doing that.

Sounds like he will love Top Gear in a few years.

Original poster

Pascha · 31/10/2012 10:43

Probably. His face when we go to watch daddy racing his car is a sight. Cant get enough of all the cars and the noise on track, he constantly drags us to the fence to watch.

A total petrolhead in the making.

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Sparklingbroomstick · 31/10/2012 11:43

I have two Pascha. We have to go to classic car shows and banger racing, and museums with dead cars in. They love it. I am learning to.

Original poster

Pascha · 31/10/2012 11:47

Oh god Banger Racing. Nooooooooo.

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Mollydoggerson · 31/10/2012 11:53

I think he is possibly a year or so too young for him to really get into imaginative play.

Mine are 3 and 4 and basically play imaginative play all day long. They love to pretend to be animals, and they make up stories (usually robbed from cartoon storylines). They love if I make up a story when we go to bed rather than read from a book. Usually I will read one story and then make up another. The one I make up is always about a mammy and a daddy and two little boys and of course they love that, riding horses and pulling carriages with mammy and daddy inside, meeting up with friends in the park who are doing the same things. They embellish the stories and love telling varients of them.

FireOverBabylon · 31/10/2012 11:59

I think what you've described is common for loads of boys. Our nursery put out a request for dressing up clothes and I gave them a whole bag full of stuff that I'd put aside for DS that he had absolutely no interest in.

He's now nearly 3.3 and starting to talk whilst he's driving cars, so the imagination thing is starting but I don't think he's ever going to be big into imaginative "let's pretend to be wizards" type play. TBH, having seen another little boy at DS's nursery turn up in an iron man type costume, I'd rather have a DS who just liked cars than one who had to be wrestled out of fancy dress outfits. It's a much easier life.

iseenodust · 31/10/2012 12:39

DS avoided creative play and dressing up through nursery, preschool and reception. Playmobil was ignored. Lego only good for tallest tower. Oh but the lining up of cars along with everything else such as dinosaurs. It would go round the room, up the stairs and round his bedroom. This went on for years. Now it's football.

pivoprosim · 31/10/2012 12:48

Are you worried about bigger issues to do with his lack of pretend play/imagination - or just that you'd like him to enjoy it more?

Original poster

Pascha · 31/10/2012 12:49

The Happyland farmhouse has been turned into a through tunnel for the trainset. The poor animals and farmer rudely tossed aside never to be seen again...

The cars are neatly lined up on the carmat, the ride on stuff neatly lined up behind them. At least he knows the carmat is for vehicles.

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Original poster

Pascha · 31/10/2012 12:50

piv he has very little speech yet, so I suppose I'm trying to see if anything else is a bit behind or if its all within the range of normal.

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Original poster

Pascha · 31/10/2012 12:54

One of the questions asked at his SL assessment last month was whether he did imaginative play at all, and I couldn't think of any real instances.

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pivoprosim · 31/10/2012 12:55

But isn't using the farmhouse as a tunnel for trains imaginative? Using something for another purpose?

pivoprosim · 31/10/2012 12:57

Have you introduced pretend food/kitchen at all? Does he take an interest in that?

Original poster

Pascha · 31/10/2012 12:57

He didn't do it. I did. He watched and then pushed the trains through after I showed him.

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Original poster

Pascha · 31/10/2012 12:58

Play kitchen at playgroup completely ignored. Will walk away.

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pivoprosim · 31/10/2012 13:03

He'll get there...he's young. And I do think boys have a lot of interest in cars, toys etc that girls don't have. I hate being gender specific, but there's truth in it.
But I don't think my DS is overly imaginative at all. I would like to see more, although he does love the pretend kitchen. But I don't really think any of this stuff is particularly imaginative yet. Were you given examples of what sort of imaginative play you could expect to see?

Original poster

Pascha · 31/10/2012 13:14

Thank you. He is very very very boy, no doubt about that. I feel better for hearing other boys can be similar.

The examples she offered were using my phone to call daddy or offer me a plate of pretend food or try to feed me with his spoon. (No, no and no). It wasn't a big thing and she moved on but it stuck with me and I've noticed much younger toddlers than him doing all of those things unprompted.

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pivoprosim · 31/10/2012 13:27

You'll drive yourself crazy if you compare him. I say that without judgement as I'm similar. Everything I've worried about...he's proven me wrong. But in his own time. He's done lots of things later than his peers...and then suddenly I realise he's actually started to do things ahead of time.

Anecdotally; I'm one of five children. According to my mum, I showed the least imagination. But I loved books and puzzles and doing my own thing. I am now a painter, and my business is built on my imagination. Another sister didn't speak until she was 3. I kid you not. Now, she speaks so much and so fast, we can't speak up. And the brother who dressed up and drove everyone mad with his 'stories' - he's an accountant

pivoprosim · 31/10/2012 13:28

We can't keep up with sister...not speak up...sorry! On phone

Ozziegirly · 01/11/2012 05:19

Thing is, I guess we have no idea what is going on in their heads as they drive little cars around. My Dad said that when he was a boy he would go around the playgroung going "brrrrrrm" but in his head he was racing round a race track, winning grand prix and the Le Mans.

My DS (2.2) will do some imaginary play but I have to really be there too - and even then, it's not so much "imaginary" as "acting out bits from Peppa Pig". He does love his kitchen accessories though - although again, he basically pretends to be "daddy making pasta".

My friend is a pre school teacher and she says real imaginary play (so making up stories from scratch and following a storyline together) really doesn't kick in until 3 or beyond. She saw my DS hand hers an imaginary bus ticket the other day and her DS "pretend" to take it and say thank you and she said it was the first time she'd seen her son do this.

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