“It’s the things we play with and the people who help us play that make a great difference in our lives. ”
Fred Rogers, American television personality, 1928–2003
When I was little, I loved to play fashion designers and hairdressers, later in life I became a fashion designer. My hairdressing career finished abruptly just before starting school when my best friend and I decided to give hairdressing a go with real scissors, we wanted to be punks! We nailed it!
A couple of things were learned that day … for me that I should probably leave my cutting skills for the design room rather than the preschool hairdresser’s salon, and my poor mum that latterly hilarious parenting tales often come from the most irksome moments.
Roleplay isn’t just about replicating something within the adult world, it can also be sat firmly within the make-believe world too, really its more to do with ‘open ended play’ the form of play that has no defined boundaries and therefore can take a merry trail of discovery and learning. Broadening children’s horizons and imaginations. Its super useful too; it teaches many life skills, from communication through to problem solving, and healing.
In the words of Susan Linn, a contemporary psychiatrist.
"Play is the foundation of learning, creativity, self-expression, and constructive problem-solving. It’s how children wrestle with life to make it meaningful. ”
