Fun Pretend Play with Little Tikes Role Playing Toys and Furniture

Pretend Play

Role playing toys are a great source of inspiration in the pretend play of young children, in that a well designed role playing toy doesn't do everything for the child, but rather opens the door to using the imagination. While many toys lend themselves to role playing, the best pretend play, I think, is very open ended, giving room for a child to express his or her interests and talents in the use of their toys. Little Tikes makes many play sets and items which adapt to individual interests, providing a simple, sturdy source of hours of childhood entertainment.
Whether it's a Little Tikes car, a Little Tikes Kitchen or Little Tikes Shopping Cart, or a Little Tikes Swing Along Castle, your youngsters can have hours of interactive pretend play. Furthermore, Little Tikes is known for the sturdiness of its materials, lasting beyond your first child.

Strong and Sturdy

Little Tikes has served our family well through the years. Some of the most popular pieces are Little Tikes Toy Boxes, shaped as miniature furniture pieces. My daughter's pink Little Tikes Toy Box Couch is still in use in our home for storage, some 16 years after its purchase. It's easy to clean, and has stood, not only the test of time, but also the rough and tough treatment of active children. The furniture aspect has made it great as a part of role playing activity, whether the kids played house, or rocked their baby dolls while Mom rocked a new baby. They have covered this, and accenting pieces, with blankets and books to make tunnels and tents. Little Tikes Storage, and Little Tikes Furniture, work into pretend play, without doing it all for your kids.

Little Tikes Playhouse Sets

Little Tikes Playhouse Sets are great doors to pretend play, as children are free to create their own adventures, based upon their favorite characters, or creating their own. These Little Tikes sets provide a loose theme, upon which children easily expound. Youngsters can simply act out the everyday routine of parents, with a cottage style playhouse, or they can rescue damsels in distress in their Little Tikes Castle. These are role playing toys which provide for safe pretend play, as the materials are solid, and the themes, fun. The designs of Little Tikes Play Sets are creative and colorful, at times combining the house portion with swing set features. The sets last for years.

Little Tikes Playground Sets

Little Tikes Playground Sets are decorative enough for indoors, in many cases, sturdy enough for outdoors. I have a friend whose living room was half consumed with such a playground climber, an indoor play area during her kids' early years. Our outdoor Little Tikes Slide is still sturdy and useful, after nearly a decade of rough and tough use. Jungle Gyms and Playground sets are fun places for role playing activities of childhood, and foster fun pretend play in kids.

Little Tikes Cozy Coupe

The Cozy Coupe by Little Tikes is a classic, and young adults of today may have fond memories of this first set of "wheels"! A little less stressful on Moms and Dads than real driving, its fun to watch your youngsters scoot around and rev and roar in these popular ride on toys.

Little Tikes Tool Bench

Unless you have a youngster who insists on real tools, a Little Tikes Tool Bench is a fun role playing toy for boys who want to build. Daddy would much rather they had their own tools, and these are much safer. Inspire your future architect with great pretend play.

Pretend Play with a Little Tikes Kitchen

Little Tikes makes many clever play kitchen sets, and these are all fun for inspiring your daughters. As a role playing toy, this is a childhood favorite theme, and pretend play in a real looking kitchen setting is so much fun. It's not a new concept, but Little Tikes kitchen sets are so much more durable than the brittle plastic kitchen sets of my childhood. Little Tikes stands the test of time!

Fun Pretend Play with Children's Play Tents

Adventure for Youngsters

 There is nothing quite as fun, for youngsters, as the thrill of hunkering down in a tent with some snacks, a few toys, and a flashlight, to enjoy the pretending of camping out.  While blankets draped over a couple of chairs, held down with huge dictionary and encyclopedia volumes, may suit the purpose of the creative child, it is all the more exciting to have an adventure in a "real" tent.


Through the years, various companies have recognized this favorite activity, creating tents which might not make it through an actual camping experience in the wilderness, but which are colorful fun for the youngster not quite ready to strike out on his or her own wilderness experience.  My children have particularly enjoyed such tents, at various stages, and in this article, I will highlight some of the adventure tents now available.  Foster your child's imagination through pretend play, with something as simple as a tent.

Discovery Kids Tents

Discovery really has the idea, as they combine colorful tents with tubular crawl through attachments.  My children had such a tent when they were young, and that crawling space is fantastic fun.  In my childhood, such tunnels were made apart from tents, and I loved the activity.  Discovery's combination of crawling with camping makes for lots of fun child adventures. 




Some of the Discovery Adventure Tents include a tent, with an attached crawl tube as an exit, while other systems of Discovery tents include two tent spaces with a crawl tube connection.  Regardless, the fun is in the ability of the active youngster to hide out, chase, and imagine.

Pacific Play Tents

While Discovery Tents are simple enough in offerings, Pacific Play Tents provide some innovation in terms of offering different designs and themes.  Crawl tube attachments are included with some tents, while others are decorated with jungle motif, clubhouse, or other cute designs.

Playhut

 Playhut tents are particularly great for youngsters, as they fold together, and pop back out when ready for use.  Easy enough to store, quick to put away, or to set up, and with characters such as Thomas the Engine, these are likeable ways to encourage your child to have an adventure in the comfort of the living room!












Playhut Tents provide popular characters, including Thomas, the Tank Engine, Buzz Lightyear, and Disney Princesses.

For current availability and prices, scroll over the images above.

Fun Pretend Play With Game Rugs

Encourage Creativity

While it is tremendous fun to find a great toy for your child, and parents love to give great gifts to their children, sometimes we have a tendency to choose elaborate sets which do it all for them. Other times, we select something intricate, yet not very durable, and find ourselves regretting our choice of gifts as we sweep up the broken pieces, much too soon after the gift has been given.





I like to foster pretend play, providing my young children with things to do, which will give them a starting point, but require their own unique involvement in the activity. Game rugs, and activity rugs, provide a starting point for children to create their own adventures every time.





There are activity rugs in many themes, and your youngster's interests will determine your selection.

Roads and Trains, Play Rugs for Boys

Among the most popular game rugs are those which provide a track for either cars, or trains. Especially well suited to boys who love car sets, this is a great way for your child to play. Further, storage isn't a big deal, as the play rug can remain out, as a part of the room decor, or roll up, for storage in a closet, or under a bed.

Learning Rugs

In addition to road and train activity rugs, you can find learning rugs, based on simple themes, characters, or games. Hopscotch is a fun game, especially for girls, and you will find some rugs with hopscotch outlined. 







There are alphabets, and solar systems, and maps, as well.

Solar System Rugs

Alphabet Rugs



Map Rugs