If you’ve been in a daycare center or elementary school classroom, or even the toy section of your local super-mart, you’ve probably seen some of the following:
- a pretend kitchen
- a pretend laundry center
- a pretend grocery store
- a pretend post office
- a pretend baby nursery
While these imitations are fun, easier and often cleaner, they are lacking some of the greatest things the originals have to offer like…
Life Skills – At an early age, children are capable of doing their own laundry and cooking several dishes on their own in addition to other household tasks. At 8 years old, my youngest was not only doing his own laundry, but he was the best clothes folder in the house. This is because he had been engaged in the real thing for quite some time working right beside others in our family.
Instead of pretending to cook, my children were actually making real grilled cheese sandwiches, scrambled eggs, french toast and much more. These acquired skills have not only been a tremendous help to me, but they have given my children a sense of pride and self-reliance. Experience tells me that not only will they someday thank me for learning these things, but their future spouses will be grateful as well.
Bonding Time – Pretend kitchens and laundry centers easily accommodate single alone playtime, but the real thing not only needs adult supervision but invites interaction and team work. This quality time not only strengthens life skills, but strengthens bonds between loved ones. When we are involved in mixing and measuring for a batch of cookies, or homemade blueberry jam, we are totally immersed in our project together, pushing outside distractions away. I have fond memories of working in the kitchen with my mother and grandmother.
Rewards of Work – I’ve already mentioned two of the rewards for household work – acquiring life skills and strengthening bonds with those we love, but there are other rewards that perhaps stand out more so – like freshly baked bread, or cookies right from the oven. Or what about that favorite shirt all clean and ready to wear on that special day? There is such satisfaction in completing a task and reaping the rewards of hard work.
If imitation is indeed the finest form of flattery, then maybe we should value the real - the original - a little more highly.
What REAL memories do you like making with your family?
See what Dana♥ and her kiddos have been cooking up at Noggins & Nonsense.
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I completely agree! That’s one thing I love about Montessori–lots of working with real things. Real food, real utensils, real laundry, real brooms, real life. It’s nice to have items scaled to child size so they can do their own work, but I always prefer “real” items that are smaller vs. pretend items that don’t actually accomplish the work they’re trying so hard to do.
Raven´s last blog ..Savoring the Season: Finding Joy in the Moment
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That is such a great point! We did the play kitchen, as well as real stuff. The real stuff is always more fun, but I do think that dramatic play has value, as well. But maybe that is just the former preschool teacher in me talking :)
Angela @ Homegrown Mom´s last blog ..Routines, Rituals, and Traditions
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Angela, My kids had the play things too. But, I’ll never forget the excitement my youngest had when we gave him a board with real nuts and bolts and tools – not the plastic toy kind. Of course, he then took off the handles on our backyard gate when he was two. ☺
Dana♥´s last blog ..Absorbed in Projects
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I like to have both. I think one serves the imagination and the other practical skills. It’s always fun to make real cupcakes, or a real working birdhouse out of wood. But, pretend tea parties and a post office made from a cardboard box w/ hand cut letters are just as fun in my home.
This is definitely a good point to remember to do the REAL things too.
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Dana♥ Reply:
February 18th, 2010 at 10:43 am
Brenda, you are so right that pretend play is great for kids and cardboard boxes are indeed the best toys!
Some kids don’t get to experience the real thing, or not enough it seems. I think we’ll make some cookies today and eat them in our cardboard box house ☺ If we lived closer you could come join us.
Dana♥´s last blog ..Absorbed in Projects
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great post and well thought out.
Ticia´s last blog ..Interview with Superman
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I love the spirit of this post.
My mom was of this opinion too. So instead of buying the silly EZBake Oven, she would buy (or make) me an apron and quality kitchen tools. AND she taught me to cook.
My issue is that the play things often cost more than their REAL counterparts. How ridiculous is that?
Brenda (above) is talking about imaginative play — using cardboard boxes and plastic containers. That’s wonderful! No one would argue with that. (Would they?)
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Angie Reply:
February 18th, 2010 at 10:26 am
My daughter keeps asking for an EZ Bake Oven and I just won’t do it. LOL How can I spend that much on something that is going to be a pain (since she is so young that I’ll have to help every step of the way), take up space, and will lose her interest in a short while. I keep saying, “Do you know how many cakes and cupcakes we can make together for that same money?”
Angie´s last blog ..Easier Measuring for Liquid Ingredients
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We have the wooden play kitchen and the EZ Bake oven… and my boys have been helping me in the kitchen since they were old enough to stand next to me. Sometimes the boys want to pretend play chef and store and restaurant, sometimes they want to work with me in the kitchen, and sometimes the allure of one tiny little cookie cooked in an entirely different way is REALLY fun! I don’t think any one is any better or worse than the other. It’s the combination of pretend and real, of Mom-time and kid-time, and of delayed gratification (mixing and baking dozens of cookies) and a quick treat (EZ Bake) that makes for a memorable, well-rounded childhood.
Jennifer´s last blog ..Our Hearts Belong to Daddy
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Hmm. You make an excellent point. My 5-year-old daughter desperately wants to cook, fold laundry, and wash dishes. Little does she know that she would acquire useful life skills! Ah, the deviousness of parents. ;)
Thanks for a wonderful reminder,
Nicole
Nicole´s last blog ..How to make your life easier
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Thanks for posting this. I have heard people say to let my kids help, but for some reason it never clicked! The last week or so since this article has been eye-opening. When I ask who wants to help me….anything….they are falling all over themselves to help. It is fun! I still have some perfectionism to overcome, but I would so love to get rid of the play kitchen in our basement (to make room for the puppet theater) but I don’t think the rest of the fam is on board.
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