Superheroes, Naughty Mums and Witches: Pretend Family Play among 7- to 10-Year-Olds

Abstract

We observed and recorded a range of forms of what both the children and many adults would agree are ‘pretend play’. These included socio-dramatic games such as ‘schools’ and ‘families’ (including animal families) and play involving narratives, characters and actions from movies, TV shows and videogames. There were also examples of adventure games in different worlds, chasing games involving special powers and actions, and play in which objects and areas of the playground were transformed into imagined game pieces and spaces. Rather than try to cover the enormous breadth of pretend play in one chapter, we devote three chapters to different types of pretend play. This chapter focuses on play which includes pretend family groupings. Chapter 8 focuses on pretend play involving combat and escape narratives and Chapter 9 analyses parodic dramatic performances, for example, re-enactments of popular TV shows.