Dress-Up and Pretend Play
In this activity, children will engage in different types of pretend play as they select and try on clothing and explore other toys in the classroom’s dress-up area.
Gather materials.
Take time to evaluate the available clothes and other items in your dress-up area. Consider whether the clothing and accessories offer ample opportunities for children to explore different personalities and identities and express themselves.
To enhance this area, consider how you might expand its offerings without relying exclusively on strongly gendered clothing. This should include:
- Open-ended materials that foster creativity, as well as props that enable the children to explore a variety of different personas and activities
- Clothing that might be worn by people of any gender (e.g., items that are not limited to a specific identity, profession, or title)
- Materials that encourage and enable children to play non-human characters, as well as human ones
Introduce activity.
- With younger children, you might initiate pretend dress-up play by putting on or pointing out and naming a favorite item of clothing to entice children to engage with it.
- For older children, you can set up the pretend-play area to align with an ongoing theme or project.
- Encourage the children to share their plans or ideas before moving into the pretend-play area.
Engage children in activity.
- Observe the children as they begin to play to get a sense of the concepts, actions or themes that they are exploring.
- Join the children’s play and begin to initiate back-and-forth exchanges to support and extend their play ideas. With babies, these exchanges might involve basic actions (e.g., on/off) and single words.
- Older children will explore more complex themes and problem-solve as they explore. Provide support and guidance—and use comments and selective questions to expand their thinking—rather than attempting to control their play.
- Keep in mind that the children may express thoughts and feelings in their play that they do not feel comfortable expressing at other times (Pastel et al., 2019). Show respect for their ideas and choices by validating them—especially when they explore themes that break gender stereotypes.
- Interrupt early biases that the children may express in their play, such as: “Girls can’t wear those, only boys can.” Ask: "What makes you think that toy is not for them?"
- Always remember that the goal is not to impose adult ideas or stereotypes on the children but to support and encourage them unconditionally as they explore and express different identities through play.
Adaptations by age
Infants and toddlers
- As the youngest children select items of clothing (such as hats), remember that they are exploring different concepts than the older children. They may put on and take off items repeatedly as they explore through action. You can add language and depth to these explorations by narrating or modeling ("Hat on! Hat off!").
- Celebrate and reinforce their choices of clothing and toys, whatever they may be.
Two-year-olds
- As the children grow older, they may use pretend play to put themselves in the shoes of family members or family friends. Support them in this play, regardless of which family member or acquaintance they might choose to imitate.
- Children who take on a variety of adult personas and roles may simply be exploring them. In other cases, these choices may have a deeper meaning. Regardless, our support should be unconditional!
Preschoolers
- Note that the children may take advantage of pretend-play opportunities to try out a variety of gender expressions. Support this play by going along with and exploring their ideas rather than policing or censoring them.
- Keep in mind that this is one of the few opportunities that young children may have to explore gender. For children who will later identify as trans or gender-expansive, these opportunities may help affirm their emerging identities in critically important ways.
- As the children play, support their choices by reinforcing the idea that they can pretend to be anyone they want to be, and they do not have to select roles that match what others may perceive as gender-appropriate.
Suggested Books
- Select any books that support the themes that the children are exploring in your pretend-play area. You may also select books that depict non-stereotypical gender expression, roles and play.
- Visit our Inclusive Children’s Books section and click on the Stories That Challenge Gender Stereotypes button for suggested titles.
What Illinois Early Learning Guideline does this meet for children from birth to age three?
Developmental DomainCognitive Development
Standard: Creative ExpressionChildren demonstrate the ability to convey ideas and emotions through creative expression.
Indicators for children:
- Participates in interactions with caregiver(s), e.g., observes, smiles, coos. (Birth to 9 months)
- Begins to use symbolic play while interacting, e.g., holds a play phone to ear and has a “conversation” with grandma. (7–18 months)
- Imitates basic movements during an activity, e.g., places beanbag on head. (16–24 months)
- Engages in more intricate pretend play, e.g., uses a toy banana as a phone. (16–24 months)
- Identifies and discusses characters that are meaningful to him and her. (21–36 months)
- Uses imaginary play to cope with fears, e.g., puts monster in a closet. (21–36 months)
- Plays dress-up and invites caregiver(s) to play along. (21–36 months)
Developmental DomainApproaches to Learning
Standard: Creativity, Inventiveness and ImaginationChildren demonstrate the ability to use creativity, inventiveness and imagination to increase their understanding and knowledge of the world.
Indicators for children:
- Imitates sounds, movements and facial expressions, e.g., moves body up and down after caregiver initially moves in that manner. (Birth–9 months)
- Begins to use objects in new and unexpected ways, e.g., places a basket on head. (7–18 months)
- Imitates actions of other people in a playful manner, e.g., wags finger at baby doll and says, “no, no, no.” (7–18 months)
- Pretends one object is really another by using substitution, e.g., using a toy car to brush hair. (16–24 months)
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Engages in pretend play with familiar objects and experiences, e.g., places baby doll in stroller and pushes the stroller. (16–24 months)
- Engages familiar adults in pretend play, e.g., hands the adult a play cup and pretends to pour “tea” into it. (16–24 months)
- Takes on familiar roles during play, e.g., cooks in the pretend kitchen. (21–36 months)
- Expresses inventive ideas to peers while playing; becomes directive, e.g., “You will be the police officer and you have to wear this.” (21–36 months)
What Illinois Early Learning and Development Standards does this meet for preschoolers?
The Arts Standard26BUnderstand ways to express meaning through the arts.
Benchmark 26.B.ECa:
Use creative arts as an avenue for self-expression.
Social/Emotional Development Standard31ADevelop positive relationships with peers and adults.
Benchmark 31.A.ECb:
Recognize the feelings and perspectives of others.
Social/Emotional Development Standard31BUse communication and social skills to interact effectively with others.
Benchmark 31.B.ECb:
Engage in cooperative group play.