Children Role Play at the age of 4

HI, our daughter is now 4 yeras old and we find that she is always playing herself with the soft toys and pretending she is eirther a doctor or teachers.She is now attending a 3hours nursery classes and she does play with her female cousin of 3 at times.We are just wondering is it normal to let her continue with her role play with her soft toys if we are busy at home as she hardly watch TV.Her concentration in TV programme is quite short.She enjoy playing with us and she is our only child.Please advise.Thank you!

[Rachel Thompson, Ph.D., BCBA]

From your description, it sounds like your daughter has excellent independent play skills and pretend play skills, and these interests sound age appropriate. If you are concerned that she is not interacting enough with other children, I recommend that you find opportuntities (e.g., play dates) for her to practice these skills with children who share her interests and/or who have good play and social skills. If you continue to be concerned about your daughter's play (or any other aspect of her development) please discuss this with her pediatrician. It is important to intervene early with any developmental problem.