Dress Up Play

Hi, I’m Rebecca Patterson, Buyer at Discount School Supply for our Dramatic Play. I have been interested to discover that many studies about early childhood development show the great value of pretend play. In fact, many experts are concerned that children’s “imaginary” free-play time has dropped by 25% over the last 25 years. Children are spending more and more time in structured activities such as ballet, music, sports and academic activities in order to help them get into good preschools, then good elementary and preparatory schools, and finally into good colleges.

While those structured activities are certainly important, there are many great reasons for imaginary play. Dress up play is a great way for children to discover what it feels like to be someone else. In doing so, they practice vital skills such as sharing, taking turns, conversing, and expressing empathy. Pretending also allows children to test the waters of disappointment, fear, anger and discipline. These are all essential skills that need to be experienced in for healthy development.

Children love to learn about their communities by pretending to be the people they see everyday – family members, police officers, firefighters and doctors to name a few.

Kids can dress up in costumes and pretend to be somebody different, enhancing the love of pretend. They can be a chef in their own “Top Chef” competition, or a police officer running around the house issuing parking tickets, or a doctor bandaging a playmate’s “boo boo.”

Our Career Costumes - Set of 6 are made of high quality cotton twill and are completely machine-washable. Each costume features hook-and-loop front closures that make it easy for little ones to get in and out of the costumes on their own. I enthusiastically recommend our Career Costumes for Halloween fun but also for community dramatic play everyday in the classroom. I am especially happy to be involved with products in the Discount School Supply catalog that encourage children to pretend. I would love to hear about your successful dramatic play activities or about dramatic play products that you would like to see in our catalog.