EMPATHY: Allows children to develop empathy and to think about other people and how they might interact with each other.

SOCIAL SKILLS: Helps them rehearse some of the social skills they will need later in life including sharing, cooperation, helping others and problem-solving by assuming roles and shared interactions.

FINE MOTOR SKILLS: Enhances fine motor skills through doll dressing and manipulating playsets.

LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT: Supports language development and encourages conversations.

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE: Helps work through emotions through dramatic play.

BONDING: Brings parents and children closer through discussion and reflection.

UNIVERSAL: Can be played alone, alongside, or together with others.

WORLDVIEW: Helps children learn the different roles people play and how they see themselves in the world.

COMFORT: Brings the large world into a manageable size that children can now reshape and have some control over.

IMAGINATION: Encourages children to create their own little imaginary worlds giving them a vehicle to pretend to be anything, acting out different adventures.

ROLE-PLAYING: Gives children opportunities to try out different roles in a safe environment.

NEW: Requires little encouragement for play; open-ended scenarios to be played with again and again in different ways.