Providing toys with a clear purpose help to elicit specific pretend dramas. For example, plastic spoons and plates, and a small stovetop, will lead to pretend cooking and eating.

Pretending through toy objects (e.g., food, utensils, cars, planes, and buildings) and toy characters (e.g., dolls, animals, and figures) can promote the use of words and narratives to imitate, describe, and cope with actual circumstances and feelings. Such imaginative play is co-related to language development, self-regulation, symbolic thinking, and social-emotional development.

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