Imaginary Companions In Child Development Essay

Sara Smilansky is a Developmental Theorist who has identified four types of play: Functional play, Constructive play, Dramatic play, and games with rules. Smilansky says that Dramatic play is the most mature type of play because this is the time where children start to understand their surroundings and imitate what they see others doing. The research on play focused on sociodramatic play and the impact it has on children’s learning. In Smilansky’s book ‘The Effects of Sociodramatic play on Disadvantaged Preschool Children’, she says that “…a form of voluntary social play activity in which preschool children participate”.

In order for a child to develop productive social skills, it is important to choose toys to enhance active, imaginative play, and discourage time at the computer or television. A game in which a child is encouraged to think for themselves rather than sit motionless staring at an electronic screen, is better for the development of the child’s social skills (Moore, 2). Time spent with other children, rather the child’s own age or older, will help develop necessary social skills that will stick with the child through adulthood (Roode, 1). From the day they are born, infants and children begin to form relationships, these relationships eventually deepen and enable them to handle future relationships with others outside their initial circle (Roode, 1). The ability for a person to build and further relationships, make moral judgments, etc. can be enhanced with games played with a group of children, stuffed animals, puppets or instruments (Roode, 1).

No chapter better exemplifies the significance of relationships than The Kindness of Children. In this case study Perry illustrates how negative or lack of relationships can cause developmental delays, and why

As a child, developing relationships with other people is crucial to

Dunn, J., & Dale, N. (1984). I a daddy: 2-year-olds' collaboration in joint pretend play with sibling and with mother. In I. Bretherton (Ed.), Symbolic play: The development of social understanding (pp. 131- 158). New ^brk: Academic Press.

-Child often assumes adult role during play and uses a doll for the younger child (Edelman & Mandle, p. 484, 2010).

Play for toddlers is sensory-motor, the pleasure of using their senses, sucking, biting, touching, and moving toes, fingers, arms and legs. They seem to babble and enjoy listening to other sounds of voices. They tend to imitate the expressions of others such as opening their mouth, imitating hand gestures, and body movements. At the end of the second year, symbolic imitation in the form of simply play occurs around this time when they may make an attempt, as early as eighteen months, in order to feed a doll or toy bear.

On the other side Corsaro found that friendship in children can be used to gain access to play activities and this can be used to maintain these friendships. Also found that children can talk about friendships with a more complex and abstractive way, different from what was expected. For example, three years old children were concerned about how their best friends felt when they played with others. Corsaro argued that children’s fantasy play was very spontaneous and creative and that culture reflects and shapes their friendship interactions and expectations.

Building a strong, caring, and positive relationship with children is extremely important. This is when a child first learns how to form a trusting bond with an adult. The adult is usually a parent, grandparent, a care provider, or another key adult in a child’s life. A caring relationship with an adult is essential to a child’s social and emotional growth. Through a strong, trusting relationship with an adult, a child learns that the adult will protect them, nurture them, and respond to their needs. This also helps the child learn how to form healthy relationships with others. “How you approach children, what you notice about them, and how you respond to them will either boost or detract from their confidence and social competence”

Relationships with peers have significant importance in the lives of very young children by allowing them to experiment with roles and relationships and develop social cognitive and

If he's coming to terms with a new sibling, for example, he may incorporate a lot of nurturing behavior into his play, mimicking your interaction with his new brother or sister. Imaginative play gives your child a sense of control as he interprets the dramas of everyday life and practices the rules of social behavior. How you can encourage imaginative play: Keep a box of everyday items that your child can use during pretend play. Kid versions of adult objects, such as play telephones and plastic dishes, help facilitate role playing, and open-ended objects (toys that can have more than one use), such as colored blocks, stretch the imagination with unlimited possibilities. Play promotes social skills As toddlers, children play side by side without obvious communication (this is called parallel play).

In the article, “Social Provisions of Real and Imaginary Relationships in Early Childhood” Gleason states that some psychologist believe that imaginary companions are based on real relationships children have, and that children tend to be more emotionally invested in their imaginary companions compared to friends or family members. Children imagine conflicts usually between themselves and their imaginary companions and the way the child reacts to such difficulties might be reflective of how she or he understands the workings of real relationships (Gleason, 980). Usually, specific relationships have certain citeria that has to be met in order for it to to be considered a real relationship.

“For young children, there is no distinction between play and learning; they are one and the same. Playing is a priority in early childhood, yet not all play is the same” (Butler, 2008, p. 1). Since the beginning of mankind children have imitated adults and learned to survive through play. Evidence of this includes toys and board games from 6,000 years ago that have been found in Egypt and Asia (Dollinger, 2000). In the last two centuries, child’s play has been observed and studied by theorists and recognized as an important tool for adult life. Three theorists that studied children and spent their lives researching how children develop were Erik Erikson, Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky. These theorists agreed that from the time a child is

| * May quarrel with other children about who gets to play with a particular toy * Uses pretend play as a way of initiating friendship * May still use transitional objects to overcome fears * Enjoys cooperative play * Learns to share with others * Makes other meaningful relationships as their social world expands

“Mom, can you give Helicoptrin some more spaghetti? She’s really hungry after flying all the way here.” Everyone knows that imaginary friends are some children’s playmates that aren’t real and cannot be seen, but what does that exactly mean, and why do some children have them and some do not? According to Marjorie Taylor, a developmental psychologist, “an imaginary companion is a friend whom a child has created, talks about or interacts with on a regular basis.” Most children’s imaginary friend experiences are positive. The imaginary friends are kind and nice, and the children like them. This wasn’t always the case. In the past, it was believed that “imaginary companions were harmful or evil, and were a sign of a social deficit, demonic possession, or mental illness.” (Young, 2016) Another theory from the past was that imaginary friends were of a spiritual nature. Some even believed them to be guardian angels that were there to give support or comfort to adults but got passed down to children. (Kara, 2017) Over many years and through many theories, people have been intrigued about why some young people develop imaginary friends, how common of an occurrence it is and what might be some factors that come into play with children who develop imaginary companions. I will go into an in-depth explanation in the paragraphs to follow.