A wide variety of playhouses are available in plastic or wood. You can also improvise your own. Start by making child-size kitchen appliances from cardboard boxes - medium-size boxes can be turned into a cooker, sink and refrigerator (see Box of delights).
Find a small table and a couple of small chairs. Look around your house for accessories - phones, pots and pans, plastic fruit and vegetables and so on - bearing in mind that children like to play with real things.
Designate a corner of a room to be your child's playhouse. Move their new furniture into the corner and let them know it's all theirs. Your child will enjoy your company and be delighted when you join them for a cup of tea.
Pretend play allows children to imitate the caring they have experienced at home and to play out situations that might be confusing or causing them anxiety or frustration (such as the arrival of a new sibling or a visit to the doctor). When children pretend, they get to make the rules and thus feel all-powerful and in control of their world.
