During which developmental stage do children start to engage in pretend play?

The correct answer indicates that children begin to engage in pretend play during the Pre-Operational Stage, which occurs approximately between the ages of 2 and 7 years. During this developmental stage, children's thinking becomes more symbolic, allowing them to use objects and actions to represent other things. This symbolic thinking is foundational for pretend play, as children start to use their imagination to create scenarios and roles, transforming ordinary objects into characters or tools for their stories. For example, a child might use a block as a phone or a stick as a sword, demonstrating a clear shift from the concrete understanding of objects to a more abstract, imaginative form of play.

In contrast, the Sensorimotor Stage, which occurs from birth to about 2 years, focuses primarily on sensory experiences and motor actions, with children learning about their world through direct interactions rather than imagination. The Concrete Operational Stage, from about 7 to 11 years, is characterized by logical reasoning about concrete, tangible concepts, but it does not typically include the same type of imaginative play that is seen in the earlier stage. Similarly, during the Formal Operational Stage, which begins around age 12 and continues into adulthood, adolescents and adults develop the ability to think abstractly and reason logically, but pretend play