Children like to imagine they are someone else in a game. As a parent you might never guess how it can benefit your child. It helps your child：
Develop Social Skills
As children play pretend games，they explore relationships between family members，friends and coworkers and learn more about how people interact.Playing doctors，they imagine how physicians care for their patients.Imaginative play helps develop empathy(移情) with others.If children can imagine how it feels to be left out of a game or to lose a pet，they are better able to help those in need.They become more willing to play fair，to share，and to cooperate.
Build Selfconfidence
Young children have very little control over their lives.Imagining oneself as a builder of skyscrapers or a super hero defending the planet is inspiring to children.It helps them develop confidence in their abilities and their potential.
Promote Intellectual Growth
Using imagination is the beginning of abstract thought.Children who can see a king's castle in a mound of sand or a delicious dinner in a mud pie are learning to think symbolically.This skill is important in school where a child will have to learn that numbers symbolize groups of objects，letters symbolize sounds，and so on.
Practice Language Skills
Kids who pretend with their friends do a lot of talking.This helps increase their vocabulary，improve sentence structure and develop communication skills.
Get Rid of Fears
Pretending can help children get rid of their fears and worries.When children roleplay the big，bad monster under the bed，they gain a sense of control over him and he doesn't seem quite so big or so bad.
小题1:Which of the following can help children develop social skills in a game?
A．Pretending to be a super hero.
B．Preparing a delicious dinner with mud.
C．Helping a doctor to attend patients.
D．Pretending to be a doctor.小题2:Why can imagination build children's selfconfidence?
A．It makes them feel as if they were much more powerful than they really are.
B．It helps them protect people and make much greater progress.
C．It helps them gain control over themselves.
D．It makes them more willing to play fair.小题3:Which of the following is NOT true according to the article?
A．While playing pretend games，children learn to get along with others.
B．Playing pretend games helps children to do well while they are in school.
C．Playing pretend games only helps children psychologically.
D．Playing pretend games is good for children's development.小题4:The best title for this passage probably is________.
A．Benefits of Playing Pretend Games
B．Tips on How to Improve Your Children's Imagination
C．Advantages of Playing Outdoors
D．Skills in Playing Pretend Games
