Dramatic and imaginative play presents various benefits for children: physical (increased strength, fitness, motor skills and hand-eye coordination), cognitive (problem-solving, creative thinking, planning, organizing and language), social (cooperating, negotiating, sharing, taking turns and self-esteem) and emotional.
In 1953, Sigmund Freud observed that play is a child's occupation. Sara Smilansky, in 1968, discovered a link between socio-dramatic play among children and scholastic success.
Dramatic and imaginative play involves six types of skills: role-playing, using props, make-believe, time length, interaction and verbal communication.
In an interview with National Public Radio, Howard Chudacoff, a cultural historian at Brown University, stated that children throughout most of history engaged in imaginative play (pretending to be pirates or princesses, for example). By the latter half of the 20th century, the mass marketing of toys influenced kids to play with action figures instead of playing pirate or other imaginative roles. This contributed to increased restlessness and inattention among children.
Early childhood theorist Lev Vygotsky observed that children, through play, behave beyond their age, and above their daily behavior.