Collection: Imaginative Play

Imaginative play toys let children act out the world — cooking in a play kitchen, running a shop, dressing up in dress up costumes, fixing things with a tool set. This kind of pretend play builds language, social skills and creativity, and it's some of the most valuable play for young children. The right toys suit their age and interests, as pretend play toys giving props for the scenarios they love. Think about what your child pretends at, and choose toys that feed those games.

What is imaginative play?

Imaginative play, also called pretend or role play, is when a child acts out real or made-up scenarios — playing shop, cooking, being a parent, a doctor or a builder. It's how young children make sense of the world, and it builds language as they narrate, social skills as they play roles together, and creativity as they invent stories. Props like a play kitchen, a toy till or dress-ups spark and support these games. It's among the richest play for development, so toys that open up pretend scenarios earn their place.

What toys support pretend play?

The best props open up scenarios children recognise:

• Play kitchen and food: cooking, serving and running a cafe.
• Shop and till: playing shopkeeper and customer, with pretend money.
• Dress-ups and costumes: becoming characters and acting out roles.
• Tool sets and doctor kits: mimicking the grown-up jobs they see.

Why is imaginative play good for children?

Pretend play does a lot of developmental work while feeling like pure fun. As children narrate their games they build vocabulary and storytelling; as they take on roles and play together they learn cooperation, sharing and seeing another's point of view; as they invent scenarios they stretch creativity and problem-solving. It also helps them process real experiences, like a visit to the doctor, by acting them out. Open-ended props that support many scenarios give the most play. Providing a few good pretend-play toys supports language, social and creative growth all at once.

Common questions

What age is imaginative play for?
It peaks roughly from 2 to 7 years, when children act out the world through pretend. Simple role play starts in toddlers and grows more elaborate through the preschool and early school years.

What toys are best for pretend play?
Open-ended props like a play kitchen, shop, dress-ups, tool sets and doctor kits, which support scenarios children recognise. The more ways a toy can be used, the longer it holds interest.

Why is pretend play important?
It builds language, social skills, creativity and problem-solving, and helps children process real experiences by acting them out. It's some of the most valuable play for young children's development.

What is a play kitchen good for?
A play kitchen supports cooking, serving and cafe games, building language and social play as children take orders and share roles. It's one of the most-used imaginative play toys.

Can I pay for imaginative play toys with Afterpay?
Yes. You can split it with Afterpay, Zip, Klarna or PayPal Pay in 4. Our imaginative play toys start from $23, which is four fortnightly payments of about $5.75.

Explore more toys

Feed your child's imagination further. Add wooden toys for classic play, plush toys for company, and a play tent as a den.

A $23 imaginative play set splits into four fortnightly payments of $5.75 with Afterpay, and Zip, Klarna and PayPal Pay in 4 do the same. Every order ships from our Australian warehouse, dispatched within 1–2 business days, with a 12-month warranty and 30 days to return it. We're a family-run Australian store, going since 2016, rated 4.66 out of 5 across 5,363 reviews.