There is no doubt that the game is essential for the development of children, as it is a fun way to learn, stimulate the imagination and curiosity of the little ones. In recent years, role-playing games have become very fashionable, those where children can put themselves in the place of a character to live their experiences as if they were them, that is, as if they were someone else.

This type of games has several benefits, if you want to know what they are here we give you detailed information.

What are role-playing games for children?

Role-playing games for children are activities where they can assume the role of another, for example, be a doctor, a teacher, a veterinarian, a president, a superhero, an animal, in short, whatever they want to be.

The important thing is that they choose the character and imprint their characteristics on it, so that they represent them and with these conditions they assume to solve certain situations or aspects as if they were that character. Do you want to know the benefits of this practice?

Learn more about symbolic game and its connection to role-playing.

Benefits of role playing for children

Role playing has many benefits for children, here are some of them:

Development of creativity

It allows them to generate agility when inventing stories, characters, situations and solutions to a certain event as if they were another person or being, which increases their creativity.

Improve your ability to express yourself

You can improve your language by encouraging verbal and non-verbal communication.

Cognitive development

Children learn in this way to solve problems and make better decisions. Although in principle it is a game, this type of situation stimulates their logical thinking.

If at this point, you are very interested in helping your child to develop his or her abilities and stimulate him or her, I recommend that you read the following articles: graphomotor activities, short stories for kids, board games for kindergarteners and behavior modification techniques in children.

Social development

Children learn to relate to others through play.

Empathy

Children learn to put themselves in someone else's shoes, that is, to understand their emotions and therefore can be kinder to their environment, because they can understand it.

Self-confidence

When they experience being other people, children gain self-confidence and become more confident.

What types of role-playing games for children are there?

There are several types of role-playing games that are worth trying with your little ones:

Playing the little school

A popular game that I'm sure everyone knows, it involves children taking on the role of the teacher, while others are their students.

Fantasy role-playing

When the child 'becomes' an imaginary hero or character, traveling to other worlds, meeting fantastic creatures and fighting wars or battles.

Professional role-playing

When children assume the role of a specific profession such as doctors, firefighters, policemen, engineers, lawyers, among others.

Play at being an animal

Adopt its behavior, sounds and way of walking.

How to make a family role-play?

These role-playing games are something that can be enjoyed by the whole family, so you can do it:

Choose a theme

The most important thing is to know what roles they are going to explore, if they are going to be super heroes, or animals, or professionals, in short. You must determine it.

Create an appropriate scenario

Imagine a situation or scenario according to the characters so that they can interact.

Make up stories

Encourage the little ones to take on the role as if they were the character, to invent dialogues and situations.

Participate

It is important that as an adult you accompany the child and take on the role, let him/her know that the game is also important to you and that you enjoy it.

Examples of role-playing games for boys and girls

There are some examples of games that you can consider depending on the age of the little ones:

Role-playing for children 3 to 6 years old

For the youngest ones some ideas are:

• Toy store: When they pretend to serve their customers and that they own a large toy store which has and sells all kinds of toys and accessories, such as watches.

• The doctor or nurse: Here the child can play the role of a doctor and take care of their stuffed animals or sick dolls, pretending to give injections or medication.
• Adults going to the supermarket: The child can pretend to be an adult and go shopping at the supermarket, previously he/she can carry a shopping list. Another child, or the parent, can be the one who takes care of him/her in the supermarket.

Role-playing games for children from 7 to 9 years old

 With children of these ages you will be able to play:

• The detective, you can give the child clues to solve a case and he or she can solve it as he or she finds the clues.
• The chef: Children can pretend to prepare delicious dishes and then serve them to your guests. Tell them to pretend to give you the recipe, they'll have fun.

Role-playing games for 10 to 14 year olds

These children are older, so you should try to capture their attention and you can do it with themes they can identify with, for example:

• Space travel: Assume that they are astronauts and that they are traveling to another planet or galaxy, they should divide up positions and roles in the interstellar mission.
• An improvised play, in which they interpret different situations or events.
• An extraterrestrial or dinosaur attack, they can play at being journalists and report on the subject, give people recommendations and tell the step-by-step account of the attack.

Top 10 best board role-playing games for kids and dads

As we have mentioned, incorporating into children's board games will strengthen family bonds and improve communication.

Here are some ideas for fun board role-playing games for kids and dads:

Guess who, also called who's who

In this game you must guess a mysterious character, you can give different characteristics or clues and with that the others will have to guess.

Pictionary

 Here you have to draw a word, and the other person who has not seen it has to guess it. For this, the one who draws the word must give clues.

Monopoly

This game simulates the real estate and financial world, you can pretend to be a banker or a buyer, in short, a traditional and fun game.

Scrabble or Stop

A word game, in which you have several options, in one you can make words according to a letter or indication, in another you can write words with the letters you are given, shout 'Stop' the one who finishes first, that's the winner.

Who wants to be a millionaire

A quiz game where the winner is the one who gives the most correct answers. Here one will play the role of the presenter and the others will play the role of players.

History explorer

In this activity they must assume an explorer's attitude, solving mysteries of history, such as who built the pyramids of Egypt, whether or not dragons existed, how dinosaurs died, among others.

Thief and policeman

Not tabletop, but guaranteed distraction: One acts as a thief and the other as a policeman, one hides while the other looks for him and tries to stop him - easy!

Also, if you are in an open space (swimming pool) you can play at being a lifeguard (under supervision, of course), be on a safari and have some of them play hikers and the others play animals. You can also have them imitate their favorite singer using karaoke, also have them play a talent show in which they must organize a special performance, or play imitate someone they know and guess who it is, also a superhero, their favorite cartoon or a character like a prince or princess. As you can see, there are so many options, if you add up carefully in just this article you already have a total of 30 ideas that you can put into practice whenever you want.

A super important tip is, if children decide to play lifeguard remind them to protect themselves from the sun with  sunglasses for children and a good idea is to buy them in the store of Kiddus.

Find out what other swimming pool games kids there are, maybe they can share roles and have fun in this way.

Final tips for role-playing

Keep in mind that for the games to go smoothly, it is important to establish clear rules of the game, all under respect and cordiality. You can include some costumes or props to help the children take their role more seriously. Let the children give ideas and express themselves freely, you can adjust the game according to their tastes or needs, you can have several themes or characters to capture the attention of the little ones.

Conclusion

Role playing games are a key didactic tool for learning and social interaction of children, you can adapt it as you want, have a good time while having fun and learning. There are many options of this type of games so choose one that you like and try it with the children, they will surely have a good time and make more enjoyable leisure or vacation time. What are you waiting for, start playing!