One year-old attention spans are not still waters, nor do they run deep.  That is why the simplest of imitative and repetitive actions, like pretending to nod and talk along while mother is on the phone, often emerge around the age of 12 or 13 months.

Evolving from the simple to the complex, pretend play unfolds in a succession of events.  The older infant (second half of first year) has sufficient memory and brain development to keep track of objects and current events.  Emphasis on “current.”

The information (actions of other household members like folding towels, or stirring) is readily available, and tools are, as well.  At first, the accuracy of the prop matters — she thinks the best way to imitate your telephone conversation is by taking your real phone out of your real purse, and dialing!  

Later, the brain shifts from copying your behavior to creating her own, substitutes become acceptable —  a toy telephone will do, just as a Popsicle stick will easily stand in for a conductor’s baton.

Soon after, adults can observe play that includes someone or something else, such as using a bottle to feed a favorite doll.  As the toddler’s collection of events and experiences grows larger, there is a parallel expansion of the brain’s ability to grasp and keep information from those events.  The greater array of material (memories, sights, sounds) converts into much more complex scenarios of play.

Your child’s powers of observation minimally grasp and re-iterate an basic interpretation of feeding a baby:  putting a bottle to lips.  Once that imitative act is repeated, enjoyed, improved —  mastered, the child becomes able to orchestrate several factors (including tone of voice, gestures, and actions  – all of which will be repeated, enjoyed, improved, mastered) until a simple feeding becomes a longer sequence of doting on baby — complete with imaginary meal, bath, nap, and storybook.  You’ll observe play schemes that used to consist of the simple, repetitive act of placing a doll in a stroller, for example,  expand into a pretend journeys to the park or the store.

His glare dispersed part-time villains as a light breeze and healthy imagination buoyed his invisible, yet fluttering, red cape.

Elsewhere on the playground, a village of miniature mamacitas sporadically nurtured their plastic babies.  While fending off occasional interlopers who had strayed from their villain duties, these mini-mamas prepared a feast of mud pies, dandelion salads, and murky beverages garnished with grass.  Their suspiciously compliant doll babies coincidentally awakened from their naps just in time to share the morning’s bounty.

Other denizens of the park that day: mothers, fathers, grandparents, and nannies.  Some of the adults busied themselves with newspapers or knitting; others tended squirming infants too small to play along with older siblings, but old enough to know something exciting was happening.  An occasional sincere shriek or a hard landing commanded the attention of the guardians, but beyond their supporting roles, few of the adults watched the kids at play.  That is because few adults know how to observe kids at play or what to look for.  Any parent who wonders about a child’s social development can perform an instant reality check by watching the child interact with the tools of play:  other children, adults, toys, household items, and the home itself.

During pretend play, children master several developmental milestones.  Playground negotiations use communication skills; the resulting compromises and turn taking increase the social (and emotional) repertoire of the participants.  The challenges of gravity and physics encourage thinking skills.  And teamwork helps kids to meet almost any playtime challenge.  Feats of imagined strength and bravery serve as antidotes to prior episodes of fear or powerlessness.  Children direct energy into the endless footsteps required to run, slide, hop, wiggle and climb.  Their daring ideas rely on natural creativity and the freedom to explore.  New teachable moments captivate young minds only if there was freedom to indulge in previous curiosity.  Even the rough and tumble of shifting social alliances will eventually reward the players by helping them discover the emotional resilience that lies within them.

Tips for older siblings:

By age 5 or 6, children will become capable of cooperating with each other to develop a plan for playing:

• assigning roles,
• loosely scripting the action, and
• infusing characters with specific traits that reveal personality.
• older children can create more definite beginnings, middles, and endings to their play plans.
• Although the play date might end for the day, the 5 and 6 year-olds can recapture the same theme from one play date to the next.