Toys and Books for Pretend Play (Part 1)

I have a four year old with a love for make believe (no surprises there based on my own childhood imagination). Her favourite thing at the moment is being able to role play - dentist, doctor, teacher, mum at day care drop off, princess rescuing a teddy etc etc. Our favourite toys at the moment are those ones that provide inspiration for that kind of play, open ended and real life based. I love this kind of play too - it gives me such a special insight into the way her brain is so rapidly changing, and into the way she makes sense of the world around her. I also know that for kids this kind of play is so important for them processing their own experiences, either the ones they’ve recently been through or something on the horizon like an upcoming immunization, or starting school. 

Below are some of the different amazing sets and toys for different types of role play that are perfect in the lead up to Christmas if you’re needing ideas for ‘Santa’! This is just part one, with another installment coming next week with some more make believe inspiration!

This has been one of our go-to's, partly because it's so useful for preparing for upcoming doctor appointments, and playing vets with our incredibly overwhelming collection of soft toy animals. Our girl has had not one, but two broken legs (and yes, she's just four years old), so we've spent our fair share of time at the hospital and getting x-rays. She loves re-enacting those experiences with her dolls, or more commonly on us parents (certain Bluey episodes come to mind). Honestly any kind of pretend play that enables me lying down on the couch, even if it means being jabbed repeatedly with blunt approximations of a needle.

Hape has a couple of amazing sets for this - we have the Doctor On Call set which is a handy red bag that includes some wooden tools, but I would love to upgrade to their Little Doctor's Medical Set which takes it up a level with pretend x-rays, re-usable plasters, medical note cards, eye testing sheets and more. Bluey also has a Cloud Bag Doctor's Set, perfect for family check up's and for recreating some of the hilarious moments from the TV show.

As always, books are my lifeblood so I'm going to find a few books to recommend along with the toys. Below is the iconic Bluey Doctor episode story, as well as some great books for learning more about doctors, nurses and hospitals. Check them out below!

The first big thing I think we bought Tilly once she was a couple of years old was her own play kitchen (although her's was not quite as lush as this one which includes running water!). She loved (and still often does) pottering while we made dinner, chopping up her own wooden vegetables like these ones, Does it now mean I have two kitchens to reset at the end of each day? Yes. But if I ever manage to convince her to keep her own kitchen tidy I'll be winning (or if I ever get on top of my own). Hape really has you sorted here, with lots of options for a kitchen set but also heaps of additional bits and pieces like a breakfast playset, or an adorable Chef's Pack with the hat and apron (and more) that I know my girl would LOVE.

A new brand for me in the world of kitchen role play is the Tefal toys which are awesome because they're realistic kitchen appliances but battery free (THANK YOU). I have my eye on the mechanical whisk, the espresso machine, and the pressure cooker (SO FUN, I don't even know how a real one of these works). They have really well priced options for the actual kitchen playset itself too which is awesome to see!

For books to enhance the chef/cooking pretend play, get them Edmonds First Cookbook (a classic), the gorgeous felt book, My Play Kitchen, or enjoy a story from Spot! Below are some book suggestions for you:

We love playing any kind of game involving animals - whether it's pretending to be an animal, trying to capture a wild animal (usually played by Dad), pretending to be vets, or setting up our own zoo!

I love the I Want to be a Vet activity book - it's adorable but also so cool, with a whole bunch of pop-out things like a stethoscope, examination checklists and welcome signs. This would go so perfectly with one of the play sets by either Melissa and Doug or Hape! Both sets include a plush animal to 'treat' (your real pets will be grateful). 

For zoo themed pretend play you can't go past having a decent collection of animal figurines. My go-to have always been the amazing Schelich figurines because I love the size consistency and accuracy. I also love the variety of real and make believe creatures (baby rainbow dragon zoo anyone?). A new brand that has just arrived here at Hero HQ is CollectA and I'm super excited because they look similar enough to fit in with the Schleich figures, which makes it so easy to mix and match them! They have some cute sets like this Wildlife one which would be great for a zoo set up, and the different habitat collections like sea and woodland. They're such a good economic choice for when you're grabbing more than just one animal! 

Along with some animal figures, all you need is some basic blocks and in no time you can set up a little DIY zoo together - go foraging outside for some leaves and sticks to add a bit of greenery for the creatures and enjoy! Perfect pretend play option if you're going to the zoo soon, or if you've just been! 

Take it even further by then creating a map for the zoo, writing stories, or researching different animal habitats. There's of course a whole heap of awesome books about the zoo - for all ages too. I love the Usborne Look Inside series, so fun to explore together with tamariki, and the 24 Hours in a Zoo also looks incredible with its comic strips about what happens behind the scenes for the animals and zookeepers. The Wimmelbooks are also amazing (there's a big and a little option for their Day at the Zoo) - they are much more visual but have so much incredible detail making it heaps of fun to explore together with tamariki as they discover their own stories in amongst the images.