A vast majority of the infants and toddlers that I see for developmental therapy are boys. Usually, at least 10 of the 14 kids I see each week are boys. There have even been times when I would see 30 kids a week and they were all boys! I think that it's safe to say, at this point, that I've gotten pretty good at playing with boys. One of the biggest challenges for my little guys is learning to and independently pretending during play. Teaching pretend play can be tricky- you don't want it to be boring but you also have to make sure that the play is at the right developmental level for the child you are playing with. Lately, I've been working with several boys that absolutely no interest in pretending until I "boyed" it up it a bit. Then, seemingly all of a sudden, the boys were eager not only to play pretend with me but sometimes on their own, too! One little boy's mom told me, "He really hates pretending. He just won't do it. His sisters have all these great pretend toys and he won't go near them!" We strayed as far from his sisters' kitchen set and baby dolls as we could and viola! he is starting to pretend a little on his own! Here is what I do to make pretend play more appealing to the boys that I work in early intervention.
1. Ditch the dolls. Well, the baby dolls, anyway. I've found that not all kids (and especially not all boys) like dolls. Instead, I use an alligator puppet with a wide mouth that has lots of teeth or a stuffed character from the child's favorite show or movie (Mickey Mouse, Blue, Nemo, Sully, it really doesn't matter as long it has eyes and a mouth). I've also used action figures. After all, transformers need baths, too. Using these toys instead of dolls makes the play more fun and helps draw the child's attention.
2. Ditch the dollhouse. I've had much, much more success using a barn or swing/slide playset than a traditional dollhouse. Both of these toys allow for a wide variety of play and much more active play. You can put the action figures down the slide and say. "whee," push them on the swing and (kids love this) make them fall off of something and yell "OUCH!" You can prolong the play scenario by kissing the "boo-boo," going to the kitchen to get an ice pack and put it on the action figure and then affixing a band aid. With the barn, the animals can run, jump, eat and the farmer can ride the horse. When the child is ready for more complex play, the barn sets are great for making the animals hide. I love the
little figures from the Disney store for this kind of play. Sometimes you can find them at Dollar Tree, too. I've also used monkey finger puppets.
3. Start with something other than feeding and putting to the toy to sleep. Many parents start pretending with their kids by introducing feeding a doll/feeding each other/cooking kinds of play. I like to start with a toothbrush and pretend to brush the alligator's teeth. I even sing the Raffi song "Brush Your Teeth" while we play. The kids love the "ch-ch-ch" sound effect in the song. I've also had really good luck with putting a hat on the alligator's head and pretending that the alligator sneezes so violently the hat falls off. I pair this with "AH, AH, AH, CHOO!" I've had a lot more success with children imitating these activities than feeding a baby.
4. Add a fun sensory activity to the play. I love to pretend to give toys baths using actual water. You just need a tiny bit of water- an inch or two can be really fun! I also like to use soap that has lots of bubbles and a washcloth. Once the child is ready to move on to more complex play (and if you are up for a bit of a mess) you can also fill the bathroom sink, a shallow baking dish or even the
bottom of your shape sorter with water and use it as a pool! Bonus points if you incorporate your slide toy as a water slide. You could also move the pretend play into a sensory box. For example, you could fill a clear shoe box or Tupperware container with black beans and pretend it's the dirt under the slide.
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