Celebrate National Children’s Day with our top pretend play games

Did you know that this weekend (Sunday 18 May) is National Children’s Day? This is a national initiative which raises awareness of some of the key issues that young children are facing today.

One of those issues is the declining rate of playtime for children. In fact, research from an interim report published earlier this year by the Raising the Nation Play Commission* has shown that “Time spent playing outdoors has declined by 50% in a generation.”

Obviously, this is something that we want to try and reverse!

After all, children’s role play and imaginative play are how kids learn and make sense of the world.

As our founder Vicki says,

“The benefits of pretend play for toddlers are endless. As children start to get ready for school, playing by themselves with role play toys or with peers will help to improve their fine and gross motor skills. We can also see how playing in different worlds and building new scenarios allows them to expand their vocabulary and improve their speech. For older children, imaginative play can improve their mental health and give them a chance to relax and unwind.”

With thirty-five franchises of Little City across the UK, we know better than anyone what the most popular imaginative games for toddlers and young children are. So why not use this weekend’s National Children’s Day as an excuse to put down the screens and enjoy some fun and relaxing family time together in the garden?

Together, we can get kids playing outside again!

Five examples of imaginative play activities

The joy of pretend play for kids is that there are unlimited options available to you. There’s no world too big or too small that you can create, and whatever you do, your children will love whatever imaginative play game you come up with.

But if you’re struggling for that spark of inspiration, why not try some of our favourite role play games that toddlers and older children are guaranteed to love?

These are all tried and tested favourites from the Little City community – all you need is some bits and pieces that you can find in the house. They are quick to set up and even quicker to clear away!

With the weather looking nice this weekend, there’s no better way to support National Children’s Day than heading out into the garden and playing!

Let’s play pretend car wash.

With just a bucket of warm soapy water, a sponge and some toy cars you can easily set up your own car wash, right from the comfort of your garden!

Your creative role play game needs its own ice cream stand.

Fill some bowls with anything you have close at hand that you can use as ice cream toppings (sprinkles, pasta shells or glitter are always popular). You can “scoop” shaving foam into a bowl and cover it with the prepared toppings – the perfect way to make an ice cream sundae!

Let’s pretend to peg out the washing.

Children learn from their parents, so if you are hanging out the washing this weekend, why not create a mini washing line between two chairs and encourage your children to peg out any dolls' clothes or mini clothes? They’ll naturally improve their dexterity while feeling happy that they are helping!

Why not involve your teddies in your next imaginative game?

We all know the fun of a teddy bear’s picnic, but why not take your teddies into the garden and create your very own doctor's surgery? Encouraging children to apply plasters to their teddies or using some toilet roll as bandages will teach them how to look after someone who may be feeling poorly.

Creating your own post box is the perfect pretend play for toddlers.

All you need is a box to decorate and lots of imagination! With some A5 size pieces of paper, you can encourage your children to write/draw their very own postcards, before adding a “stamp” and posting it! Why not encourage them to send their own postcards to family members or even their teddies? The options are endless!

Our Little City events can bring out your child’s imagination

There’s nothing we love more than seeing how pretend play can help a child develop their imagination and creativity.

Our mobile Little Cities are designed to allow children and toddlers to learn more about the world around them through play. Why not find your nearest city and come along to our next event?