In light of empirical evidence analyse key features of childrens early pretence and discuss whether they
... He considered play to be devoid of organised structure, and believed that play allows freedom from conflict and viewed childrens fantasy play as egotistical; meaning that the children discover the boundaries and limits of their ego. ... There are however key features in children’s early pretence. ... This shows that even small children are aware of the norm from an early age. ... In sight of these games the question has to arise as to whether or not children understand the distinction between fantasy and reality. ... One perspective on appearance-reality distinctions asserts that childrens ability to discern the imagined or perceived states, versus the real state, increases as they age. ... Harris (2000) argues that pretence play stimulates the child’s imagination, which in turn pushes the boundaries of reality, but that children still see a clear distinction between fantasy and reality. ... However all children were able to distinguish between fantasy and reality in the picture task and so Taylor et al (1993), claimed that even children who invent ICs have a clear grasp of the distinction between reality and the worlds of fantasy and pretence. ... Rosengren, et al (1994, cited in Silberglitt et al, 1997), tested childrens ability to distinguish possible from impossible transformations, but in this study, subjects were asked if a magician could cause the transformation. ... This evidence would support Freud’s theory of pretend play, being that children engage in it as a way to deal with traumatic events. ... Moreover, creating and acting out pretend themes contribute to childrens awareness of multiple possibilities of options in a variety of situations within a structured framework of explicit and implicit rules, which ultimately contributes to the development of critical thinking and social skills. In spite of significant evidence of childrens relatively sophisticated understanding of the physical world, like Piaget, some researchers also find that children do hold a number of fantasy beliefs. ... There is a need for future research to determine whether children indeed view magic as a real, possible mechanism in the everyday world, or as a possible mechanism only in the world of fantasy. Whether or not children appear to know the difference between fantasy and reality, make-believe play is short lived, (most children stop engaging in pretend play by age 6 or 7), and they should be encouraged to partake in it as it is a healthy part of their early lives.