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Does your daughter love to play ‘school’, pretend she’s a veterinarian, super hero or her favorite pop star? You may not realize it, but she’s doing a lot more than just playing. In fact, this type of imaginative, creative role-play helps her to develop cognitively, socially and emotionally.

Role play challenges your daughter’s brain in a really special way! For example, when she pretends to be a chef, she cultivates her brain to think about all the skills and steps necessary to prepare a meal and to solve problems as they arise during her preparation. When she role plays being a marine biologist, she opens herself up to the possibility of excelling in the sciences and considering options beyond those to which she may be exposed to on a daily basis. Also, pretending to be a mom helps her create empathy for her own mother and encourages her to think about nurturing others—an important skill for every person to develop as he or she grows up.

Imaginative role-play can also help a girl become empowered to begin exploring potential future goals that go beyond her every-day life experiences. Don’t be nervous when your daughter says she wants to be a famous movie star or singer, and spends much of her time practicing for this role. Of course she may not have the necessary talent; you may not even want this lifestyle for her. However, this type of pretend play teaches your child to think outside the box, take risks and find true passion. She will likely change her mind many times as she grows up but seeking to be her very best is a skill that will apply to every aspect of her life as she becomes an adult.

Girls love to play with friends and creative role-play with a peer teaches them important social skills such as cooperation, compromise and taking turns. Unlike standardized rule-governed games (like board games and sports), during creative play, one doesn’t always get to play the role she wants; compromise is essential. One day she may get to be the ‘hero’, but another day she must be the ‘villain ’. Learning to compromise gracefully is an essential life skill that is taught over and over during this type of role-play.

Finally, imaginative role-play teaches and reinforces the important life skills that your daughter learns from you and from other adults. It is important to encourage play that encourages roles that are ‘gender specific’ in your particular family but also those that transcend your family’s roles. For example, if mom is a doctor, you can support her in play as a doctor but also encourage play that allows her to pretend to be a gardener, like her grandmother. Each of these pretend roles challenges her brain in a different way. If her dad is a mechanic, buy her some toys to help her learn how to pretend to be a mechanic. Even if she never becomes a mechanic, learning about and not feeling threatened by technical skills is of vital importance to girls just as it is to boys. It also teaches a girl to value her father’s role in her life and to feel good about both traditional and non-traditional roles in her family—both are very important!

Creative role-play is a wonderful tool—that reaches far beyond play—to help your daughter develop self-confidence, creativity and cognitive strength. The next time your daughter asks if you will be the ‘student’ so she can be the ‘teacher’, put aside what you’re doing and say YES!