Pretend play ideas for toddlers: 12 games that build English words and phrases

The best pretend play ideas for toddlers use things you already have: a pot and a spoon become a kitchen, chairs in a row become a bus, a blanket becomes the sea. Pick one little scene, play a part your child gives you, and say the words that belong to it. Pretend play is one of the easiest ways to bring new English words into your home.

When your child cooks you pretend soup or drives a cardboard bus, they need words for it: “Hot!”, “Yum!”, “Beep beep!”, “Stop!” The game gives every word a reason, and toddlers learn words fastest when the words do something.

Here’s why pretend play brings out new words, how to set it up with what you have, 12 simple games in five groups, how to join in without taking over, pretend play in English and Spanish, and answers to common questions.

Pretend play ideas for toddlers: why play brings out new words

In pretend play, your child is in charge of a little world. They’re the cook, the driver, the doctor for teddy, the farmer. Running a world takes words, so your child reaches for every word they know and listens closely for new ones.

Pretend play also repeats. A toddler who loves playing restaurant will play it again and again, with the same phrases each time: “Hello! What do you want? Here you go!” That repetition is exactly what new words need.

And play makes words useful in a way that watching never can. A screen can show your child a word, but in pretend play your child has to use it to keep the game going. If you’re curious how screens compare, our post on whether toddlers can learn from TV looks at what screens can and can’t do.

Best of all, pretend play is fun for grown-ups too. You don’t need to plan a lesson. You just need to play along.

Setting up play with things you have

You don’t need special toys for pretend play. Look around the house:

• The kitchen: pots, wooden spoons, plastic bowls, empty food boxes, a dish towel.
• The living room: chairs for a bus, cushions for a boat, a blanket over a table for a cave or a store.
• The closet: hats, scarves, bags and old shoes for dress-up.
• The toy box: teddies, dolls, toy animals and cars, who make perfect customers and passengers.

Keep it small. Two or three props are enough for a whole game, and a small setup is easy to put away. Swap the props every week or two so the same game feels new again.

Dress-up makes any game better: a hat turns your child into a chef, a bag turns them into a shopper. Our guide to clothes in English for kids has dress-up ideas and the words that go with them.

Kitchen and restaurant

Food is one of the first things toddlers pretend about, because they see it every day.

1. Cooking dinner. Give your child a pot, a spoon and a few toy foods or real dry pasta. Then cook together: “Stir, stir, stir! Is it hot? Blow on it! Mmm, yummy.” Action words like stir, pour, cut and mix come naturally, along with hot, cold and yummy.

2. Restaurant. Your child is the waiter or the cook, and you’re the hungry customer. “Hello! Can I have a pizza, please?” Your child brings it, and you say “Thank you! Yum!” Then swap roles. Restaurant play is full of polite little phrases: please, thank you, here you go, more, all done.

Name the foods as they appear: apple, banana, bread, soup, cookie. If your child loves kitchen play, our guide to food words for toddlers has many more words to add to the menu.

Store and shopping

A store game teaches food words, counting and polite phrases all at once.

3. Grocery store. Line up some cans, boxes and fruit on a low shelf or a table. Give your child a bag or a basket. “What do you need today? Apples? How many apples?” Your child shops, and you count the things at the checkout: “One, two, three. Here’s your bag!”

4. Ice cream shop. Use bowls and a big spoon, or paper cones. “What flavor? Chocolate or strawberry? One scoop or two?” Choices like these give your child the words right in your question, so they only need to pick one.

Take turns being the shopper and the seller. When you’re the seller, use the same few phrases every time, like “Hello! What would you like?” and “Here you go! Bye-bye!”, so your child can borrow them when it’s their turn.

Train, bus and car trips

Trips are perfect for toddlers who love to move.

5. Train ride. Line up chairs or cushions, one behind the other. Your child is the driver: “All aboard! Choo choo! Next stop, the park!” Add a ticket made from paper, and a conductor who says “Ticket, please!”

6. Bus trip. Same chairs, new game. Teddies and dolls are passengers. “The bus is stopping. Who’s getting off? Bye, Teddy!” Bus play is full of stop and go, on and off, up and down.

7. Car wash. Line up toy cars, and give your child a cloth and an empty spray bottle or a damp sponge. “The car is dirty. Wash, wash, wash! Now dry it. Clean car!” Wet and dry, dirty and clean, all in one game.

Moving games like these are full of action words. Our guide to action words for toddlers has many more to use along the way.

Bath, bed and baby care

Toddlers love taking care of someone smaller than them, even if that someone is a doll.

8. Baby doll bath. A bowl of water, a washcloth and a doll that doesn’t mind getting wet. “Wash the baby’s hands. Wash her feet. Now dry her. Is she clean?” Your child practices body words, care words and gentle phrases.

9. Teddy’s bedtime. Put a teddy to bed with a blanket, a book and a song. “Teddy is tired. Night-night, Teddy. Shh!” This game is a great way to wind down before your child’s own bedtime, and it uses the same words they hear every night.

Care games bring out soft voices and kind words: gentle, careful, sleepy, shh, hug. They also give your child a chance to say the things you say to them, which is often how those phrases stick.

Pets, farm and the sea with Tatako

Animals make pretend play even more fun, because they come with sounds.

10. Pet care. A toy dog or cat needs food, water, a walk and a nap. “Is the puppy hungry? Give him his food. Now let’s go for a walk!” Your child learns animal words, care words and lots of “good dog!”

11. Farm. Toy animals, a box for a barn and a blanket for a field. “The cow says moo. Where’s the pig? In the barn!” Feed the animals, put them to bed and wake them up in the morning.

12. Under the sea. Spread a blue blanket on the floor: that’s the sea. Swim your toy fish, boats and ducks across it. Tatako, the octopus from our lessons, makes a perfect guest here, with its eight arms and no socks. “Hello, octopus! Can you swim? Swim, swim, swim!”

Under the sea is a great game for wiggling, splashing and silly voices, and for words like fish, boat, swim, splash and deep.

How to join in without taking over

Your part in pretend play is to be a great player, not the director. A few habits help:

• Follow your child’s lead. If they say the soup is hot, it’s hot. If the bus is going to the moon, enjoy the trip.
• Take the part you’re given. If you’re the customer, be a hungry, polite customer. Your child gets to run the show.
• Say what’s happening. “You’re stirring the soup. Now you’re pouring it.” Your child hears the words for what they’re doing.
• Add one word. If your child says “Soup!”, you say “Hot soup!” or “Yummy soup!”
• Use your character’s voice. “Hello! I’d like a cookie, please!” Characters make phrases memorable.
• Make silly mistakes. Put the cookie on your head instead of your plate. Your child will love telling you where it really goes.
• Don’t correct. If the cow says “woof,” laugh, and maybe moo a little in the background.

Short phrases help your child join in. Our list of English phrases for toddlers has many that fit right into pretend play.

Pretend play in English and Spanish

In a bilingual home, pretend play can happen in either language, or both. A few ideas that work well:

• One game, one language. The store might be an English store, and the kitchen a Spanish kitchen. Keeping a game in one language makes the words easy to remember.
• An English-speaking character. Choose a teddy or a puppet who only speaks English. Your child may love talking to it, and switching to English becomes part of the game.
• Follow your child. If your child plays in Spanish, join in naturally, and add English in your own lines: “Ah, la sopa! Hot soup!”

Mixing languages in play is very common and nothing to fix. What matters most is that your child has fun and hears plenty of words, in whichever language the game is happening.

Where Tatako fits

Pretend play uses the words your child already knows, and Tatako’s short spoken lessons help grow that list. The 369 first words and phrases in 72 lessons cover people, food, animals, colors, actions, little helper words and what the teacher says at preschool, in about five minutes a day with nothing to read. Food, animals and actions are exactly the words that come back in kitchen, farm and bus games.

Each lesson follows one simple rhythm. Your child hears each word three times, with a pause to say it out loud. Next come two pictures, and your little one touches the one they hear. Finally the picture comes back without the word, and your child gets to name it first. Afterward, a grown-up spends about two minutes marking how each word went (New, Repeat more, Understands or Can say), and the next lesson brings the shaky words back first.

There’s also a Spanish guide voice that explains what to do, which you can turn off once you don’t need it. Lessons run in the browser, and you sign in with Google. Learn more on the Tatako home page.

Questions parents ask

How long should a pretend play session be?

As long as your child is enjoying it. For many toddlers, that’s five to ten minutes, and some days much longer. Stop while it’s still fun, so your child wants to play again tomorrow.

How do I add English to pretend play?

Play along in English and say what’s happening: “You’re stirring! Is it hot?” Use the same few phrases for each game, and add one word to whatever your child says. An English-speaking teddy or puppet can help too.

Do I need special toys for pretend play?

No. Pots, spoons, empty boxes, chairs, blankets and a few teddies are enough for every game in this guide. Simple things often work better, because your child gets to imagine the rest.

Should I join in when my toddler plays alone?

Both are good. Playing alone is valuable, so there’s no need to interrupt a happy, busy child. When you do join, take the part you’re given, follow their lead and add words without taking over.

What if my toddler only plays in Spanish at home?

That’s fine. Join in and add English in your own lines: “La sopa! Hot soup!” You can also keep one game in English, like the store, or bring in a teddy who only speaks English.

Pretend play turns your living room into a kitchen, a bus, a farm and the sea, and every one of those places is full of words. Pick one game, play the part you’re given and let your child run the show. And when you want a short, calm English lesson to bring new words into the game, start a Tatako lesson together.