Gender Differences In Pretend Play Amongst School Children In Durban, Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa

Children begin to engage in pretend play, develop receptive and expressive language, and use mental representation at approximately the same time in their development. The researchers set out to investigate whether boys and girls have different fantasy worlds. The study thus explores gender differences in pretend play in children between the ages of 3 and 5 years, in the pre-school section of a local primary school in Durban, KwazuluNatal, regarding gender influences on pretend play. The paper further examines the implications of the findings for child-care and gender role socialization Gender and Behaviour Vol. 6 (1) 2008: pp. 1577-159