Importance of symbolic play for the child
The symbolic play activity can play an essential role as it allows you to enhance unexpressed and sometimes repressed skills which are instead indispensable for mental maturation.
Consequently, the structure of the game proceeds in parallel with the development of the child's personality, which begins to use imagination, creativity and intelligence to represent the contingency.
In any circumstance it would be appropriate to encourage such activities to encourage the mental and psycho-emotional development of children, who show a clear propensity for this type of entertainment from the age of 18 months.
It still happens very often that traditional toys are linked to specific stereotypes, almost always based on the division of the sexes (doll for females and tool stall for males). Symbolic play, on the other hand, has the fundamental advantage of overcoming this rigid distinction of roles, ensuring everyone has the most varied experiences, to offer the widest opportunity for choice in any circumstance.
The game of pretending, which is considered one of the most characteristic examples of symbolic play, is very important for the development of the child starting from 18 months of life.