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The Exchange article, "Infants Don't Pretend, Do They?," is the basis for one of our most popular Out of the Box Training Kits by the same name. In the article Lorraine McCune provides these ideas on facilitating pretend by infants...

"When thinking about helping infants to develop play abilities, the emphasis must remain on the concept of play. Children need to follow their own agenda for playing. Adults can observe the child's agenda, fit into it, and possibly extend or stretch it. But the adult's role is to be a responsive observer and a willing partner, even if a child's play involves nothing more than simple acts. If an empty cup is offered �" accept it. And don't underestimate the importance of being an interested observer. Babies prefer to play in the presence of an accepting adult. Pretend play is more frequent when someone reacts and participates.

"If possible, individual play between a baby and a consistent caregiver should be a part of the daily (or at least weekly) routine at home or in the child care center. I believe that a separate set of toys, especially chosen for their appropriateness to 8 to 24 month olds, should be reserved for these one-to-one sessions. The set must include items which are good for simple exploration as well as toys that will stimulate more elaborate pretending in children over two. Toys must be carefully chosen to be safe. This is a complex issue; a few hints follow. Toys should be too large to fit into a child's mouth. There should be no parts that might break off, are sharp, or might cause an injury if thrown or fallen upon. There should be no small spaces that could entrap a child's finger. Materials must be safe for mouthing. The set of toys must be large enough to engage children for as long as they can sustain interest...

"Usually I store all these items in a large plastic bucket which I set down in front of the child at the start of the session . . . . To play with a 12 month old, a teacher could select some objects that promote exploration (like the ping pong ball and the jack-in-the-box), mixing these with some objects that the child might recognize and enjoy trying to use in simple pretending such as the spoon, the comb and brush, and the mirror. The baby doll and stuffed dog or monkey should always be included because these items are very central to later pretending. The point is to interest, not to overwhelm."

Contributed by Exchange, The Early Childhood Leaders' Magazine Since 1978

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