At around two your toddler will be doing something special, copying actions they've seen and imagining new situations. In other words, pretend playing.
It's not just mucking around. Imaginary play with everyday objects can really help children develop connections between words and the world around them. As your toddler pretends and plays, they'll start to use lots of new words they've learnt from watching, copying and acting out different real-life situations.
Studies have shown that play is really important for lots of wider life skills too as they'll start to understand how people around them are thinking and feeling.
Play is also a good way to deal with difficult stuff, going to the doctor might be scary. But not if you're the doctor and it's Teddy who needs the injection. And that's what it's really all about… practising every day life, and sometimes not so every day…
By the time your little one reaches 2 years old, you might find they really start to enjoy pretend play with you and their toys.
But trips to the doctors with Teddy and tea with dolls isn't just mucking around, it's a way of making sense of different situations.
Image caption, At around 2, your toddler might start to copy actions they've seen and imagining different situation. In other words, pretending!
1 of 5
