Hold a toy, a banana, or even just your own hand up to your ear, pretend to chat with a friend, and then surprise your toddler with the best news of their young life: the call is actually for them. The Pretend Ring is a tiny, silly game that opens the door to imaginative play.
Why this game matters
Around their first birthday, toddlers are just beginning to grasp the idea of pretend, that an object can stand in for something else, and that a game can follow an invented script rather than reality. This early imaginative play is a genuine building block for later creativity and flexible thinking, and it also gives a toddler practice with the back-and-forth rhythm of conversation, listening, waiting for a turn, and responding, well before they have many real words to work with.
What you need
Nothing but an object to serve as the pretend phone, a toy, a shoe, a banana, or simply your own hand held to your ear.
How to play
Hold your chosen object up to your ear and start a one-sided pretend phone call, chatting animatedly with an imaginary friend or family member. Keep it short and expressive, your toddler is watching your tone and face as much as listening to the words.
End the call, then make a ringing sound and “answer” again, but this time announce with excitement that the call is for your toddler. Hold the phone up to their ear and gently prompt them: “Say hello!” Let them babble, say a word, or simply hold the phone, whatever they’re ready for, and respond warmly as though you can hear the other end of their conversation too.
Variations
Once your toddler is familiar with the game, let them initiate it, handing you the “phone” to start a call of their own. Introduce different pretend callers each time, a grandparent, a favourite toy character, a silly made-up name, to keep the game fresh.
Why the silliness matters
This game works best when played with genuine warmth and a bit of exaggeration, a real smile, an animated voice, visible delight when the “call” comes through for them. Toddlers at this age are highly tuned in to emotional tone, and a game played with real enthusiasm tends to land, and get repeated, far more than the same actions performed flatly.
A banana held to your ear and a few seconds of pretend chatter is a small, slightly ridiculous thing to do in the middle of an ordinary day. But it’s also one of the first doors into imaginative play that a toddler walks through, and it rarely takes more than a genuine smile to open.
