Pretend play is not an ‘extra’: Exploring the relation between parent-reported pretend play and executive functions in the toddlerhood period

Empirical evidence and theoretical accounts increasingly highlight the role of pretend play in fostering the development of executive function skills in childhood. Yet, previous research has predominantly been focused on pre-school- and primary-school-aged children, even though both pretend play and executive functioning have a developmental onset much earlier in development. To address this gap within the existing evidence base, the current report aimed to explore this association in the toddlerhood period using a multi-method approach. In an initial consultation, insights from mothers of toddlers were obtained via a World Café approach. Secondly, a parent-reported online study, including 213 toddlers ( M = 25.47 months, SD = 5.33) identified a quantitative estimate of the concurrent relation between parent-reported indices of pretend play and executive functions in toddlerhood. After controlling for demographic variables, a significant association between toddlers’ pretend play ability and cognitive executive functioning skills was identified. However, no relation was found between toddlers’ pretend play ability and regulatory executive function skills. Findings from across studies are discussed in relation to previous theoretical accounts on the role of pretend play in development.