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How Beautiful Hape Kitchen Sets Benefit A Child's Developing Mind

Posted on September 25, 2019 by Lubica Misevski

Why do children play pretend with a Hape Kitchen?

In very early child development, children learn to talk by mimicking their parents. They learn how to use forks, open doors, and how to put on their shoes by watching those around them. Mimicking has a profound benefit on a child's developing mind because they learn how to do things for themselves that they have seen done before. Toddlers enjoy pretending to do things they've seen their parents do many times before. They answer toy telephones, pretend to drive the car with a toy steering wheel, or have their dolls hold adorably everyday conversations. Why? Because they are trying out these actions for themselves. Just as they tried out using a fork and putting on shoes,

But as a toddler grows, their pretend play becomes more involved. They begin taking on roles and acting out whole scenarios that they have seen in the home or around them. This is one of the many reasons why wooden toy kitchens have been a staple in early life play for as long as there have been playsets. Children as young as 18 months delight in toy foods and a 3-year-old will be ready to "Play the parent", cooking pretend family dinners for the table of or stuffed animals.

The benefit to a child's developing mind when given an immersive wooden Hape kitchen cannot be understated.

Realistic Toys Help Pretend-Play Development

The younger a child is, the more they need their toys to look like what they are pretending. A two-year-old needs their toy phone to look like a phone, but a three-year-old will answer the phone and giggle as their ability to think creatively develops. Realistic toys pose the most benefit to a very young child's developing mind.

18 to 24 Months Old for Girls and Boys

Hape kitchen wooden sets feature realistic-looking retro-style kitchens and toy foods that are real enough for the youngest children to become truly immersed in mimicking pretend-play. They will happily open and close the toy oven and move pans onto and off of the stove just like Mum or Dad does in their kitchen.

The Hape Kitchen Retro Wooden Kitchen is the smallest and best toy for a young toddler just learning how to play kitchen pretend games.

2 to 3 Years Old Girls and Boys

Two-year-olds are more creative and begin engaging in both symbolic play and role-taking. They adore assigning each other roles and trying on what it's like to be the chef for dinner, the mom and dad, or the chef and sous-chef depending on what they have seen before. Your child will talk themselves through a cooking process they have seen before when playing with a wooden Hape kitchen. In doing so, will form a more solid mental schema about cooking and might even surprise you with what all they have picked up.

The Hape Kitchen White Gourmet Kitchen is a great way for toddlers to begin their imaginative kitchen play.

3 to 4 Years Old Girls and Boys

As children approach four years old, the benefit to the child's developing mind offered by a play kitchen evolves again. They begin putting together elaborate stories of why they are playing and what is going on in the unseen world around their props. The wooden toy kitchen may become the center of a magical adventure, a place for other imaging children to bring their characters for a meal, or they might even start their own pretend restaurant with servers and guests and imaginary specials of the day.

The Hape Kitchen Multi-Function Wooden Kitchen is a large multi-surface, multi-cabinet set that is perfect for playing elaborate pretend games with siblings and friends.

While the All-in-1 Wooden Hape Kitchen is a cute modern design for a modern-style playhouse.

Wooden Hape Kitchens for Developing Pretend-Play

Hape Toys has dedicated its brand to providing beautiful wooden Kitchen playsets designed to benefit a child's developing mind as they play pretend from the early toddler stage to the pre-school ages.

Their sets are wonderful for independent play and for playing with friends and sharing between siblings.

Check out the full collection of Hape kitchen wooden sets to find the one that will be most delightful and beneficial to your child's developing mind.

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