Dramatic Play Ideas for Young Children

For young children, dramatic play is more than just entertainment. Dramatic play helps two-year-olds and preschoolers develop important language development, self-regulation, conflict resolution, problem-solving, and cooperation skills. Structured play also empowers young children to explore their own ideas and express their creativity.

To help encourage these skills in your child, try these five dramatic play ideas for two-year-olds and preschoolers.

Library Dramatic Play

For a basic pretend library setup, all you will need is a few of the books you have in your home already. Your child can pretend to be the librarian or a library patron, and you can set up a desk where the “librarian” will work. To enhance the play, you can create your own library cards, book return bins, and return cards for each book. The library patron can ask the librarian questions about the books, and the librarian can help the patron find books, check the books out, and even help to shelve them.

Veterinarian Dramatic Play

Your child will learn empathy and kindness towards animals in this veterinarian structured play idea. Here, your child can pretend that their stuffed animals are sick or injured pets, and your child is the veterinarian. Some ideas for props include things like a toy stethoscope, a bottle for medicine, bandages, and a thermometer.

Restaurant Dramatic Play

You and your child can turn simple mealtimes into a fun and educational opportunity to pretend you are in a restaurant. This pretend play idea can also help your child practice their table manners and restaurant etiquette. Some ideas include: helping your child prepare a simple meal as the chef, or taking turns being the restaurant’s customer and server. The server will take the customer’s order, bring them their food, and give them the bill. You can even create a simple menu for this dramatic play idea.

Dinosaur Dig Dramatic Play

This dramatic play idea can be done in a sandbox, a sensory bin, or any shallow bin. You can use inexpensive plastic dinosaur toys or fossil skeleton toys, and bury them in a layer of sand, soil, or even coffee grounds. Then, encourage your child to dig for a dinosaur with a toy shovel, and use a paintbrush to brush the dirt away. This structured play idea will help your two-year-old or preschooler build their fine motor skills and problem-solving skills.

Storybook Dramatic Play

Your child will enjoy bringing their favorite story to life in this structured play idea. Play-acting an existing character and story can help your child build their confidence, language development, cooperation, and even conflict resolution. You can also help your child build their creativity by figuring out how to represent certain costumes or settings with items you already have in the home.

With these five structured play ideas, your two-year-old or preschooler can develop their skills in language, self-regulation, conflict resolution, problem-solving, and cooperation. Try them today!