The Benefits of Pretend Play Food Toys

When I think about my childhood I remember all the fun times I had watching my grandmother cooking Sunday dinners for the family. If I close my eyes I can still smell the wonderful aroma of bread baking in oven and the rich scents of pot roast and carrots as they cooked long and slow. I wanted to get in there with her at an early age and she let me… a little. To get me to quit asking to help every five minutes she made sure I had some fun play food toys as a substitute so I could cook in my pretend kitchen while she prepared dinner in peace. Today’s moms are still faced with bright eyed children eager to help. The basic fact is that kids love to pretend to cook just like Mom. Luckily there are so many pretend play foods available you are sure to find the perfect combination for your little chef.

Benefits of Play Food:

• Benefit # 1: Kids love to re-enact daily life. One of the most fundamental things we do is eat so kids just love pretending to prepare, serve and eat food. Providing kids with a wide variety of play food gives them ample opportunity to use their imaginations and have fun. An added benefit is that once they play with their own pretend food, they might actually try foods they’ve turned their nose up in the past.

• Benefit # 2: Keeping kids busy while mom is cooking dinner can be tricky. Play food can be the perfect distraction. If you are setting the table you can encourage your little one to set her own table with a pretend play dish set. Kid Kraft makes two sets – both with 27 pieces each – pastel for girls and primary so boys can feel included too. Or if you are cooking dinner she can bring out something like the Food Groups Set by Melissa and Doug. If she has a play kitchen, Melissa & Doug has a wonderful set of pots and pans so she can cook just like Mom.

• Benefit # 3: Pretend play food and cooking utensils can be very educational. Just the act of pretending to cook educates children to be socially appropriate. With today’s play food you can add an academic element as well. Learning Resources has a wide array of Smart Snacks to inspire creative play while teaching fundamentals of counting, shapes, and colors at the same time. For example, toys like Counting Cookies are pretend play cookies that have different numbers of candy chips on top with the corresponding number underneath.

All children love to play with toy food and dish sets. Boys and girls alike want to use their imaginations to pretend to cook and set the table just like Mom and Dad. When you’re looking to buy toy food and cooking utensils for the special child in your life, buy items that are versatile and those that closely resemble the real foods and dishes used in your family. If you routinely eat sushi and your child is an adventurous eater, the Melissa & Doug Sushi set is a perfect fit for your little one. If you have a family silver tea set that your girl would love to use, get her the beautifully designed Silver Tea set with Cups by Schylling. If promoting healthy eating is the most important thing to you, get the pretend play vegetables or the assorted fruit tray by Plan Toys. They are made from reusable wood and colored with vegetable dyes for an extra measure of safety.

Clearly buying pretend play toy food is a breeze with so many items to choose from, the hardest part will be deciding which ones to buy since they are all so cute. Little kids will love what ever toy food or dish sets you choose for them. Kids have endless imaginations and with the right toy food items their creativity will know no bounds.