image credit: the world within my hands, via flickr

No one has a better imagination than a small child who is just beginning to discover the world around him, and there’s nothing like a young child’s imagination to come up with some of the greatest and most outrageous stories ever told. Playing pretend can be a lot of fun for kids and parents alike, but what you may not know is that your child’s make believe world is actually very important for his language development.

According to the latest research (and just plain old common sense), playing pretend is actually fundamental to a young child’s language development and early literacy skills. Children use language to construct their imaginary worlds, much like they do when telling a story. Children experiment with vocabulary and sentence structures as they expand their imagination, weaving words together in such a way that language and imagination are completely inseparable.

One example of this phenomenon can be seen in the results of a recent study from the University of Manchester’s School of Psychological Sciences, which found children with imaginary friends are quicker to develop language skills. Researchers believe that “by chatting to an imaginary companion a child becomes more practised at using language and constructing conversation, as he or she is carrying out both sides of the interaction.” Of course, the same kind of two way conversation also takes place when a child stages conversation between dolls or stuffed animals. The main idea is that conversation is used in pretend play, and the more your child gabs the faster his language skills will develop.

These storytelling and make believe skills are also important for preparing your child to learn to read. Narrative skills, like being able to describe things and understand stories, are often cited as one of the six early literacy skills your child needs in order to be prepared to learn to read. You can help your child develop this skill in both his languages by providing plenty of opportunities for him to interact with other children (this is where playgroups in the minority language can come in handy for bilingual families), playing make believe with him and exposing him to new and interesting experiences (this is much easier than it sounds, since small children are fascinated by what may seem like the most mundane things to an adult). Reading to and with your child on a daily basis is also an extremely important tool for developing language and early literacy skills. You can even take your child’s favorite stories one step further by pretending you are both characters in the story and coming up new plot twists and endings for a familiar tale. The possibilities are as limitless as your child’s boundless imagination, so have fun exploring new and fabulous worlds together.