How does playing pretend help children cope with feelings?

Children practice emotions through playing. They feel powerful during play because they are in charge of themselves and the environment. Through dramatic play children use their imaginations to symbolize and externalize what ever issues and conflict come up in their lives. Through play, children can practice predicting what might happen in real life. They are able to replay the past and project into the future. Children practice negotiating and cooperating during pretend play, and they feel a sense of freedom while pretending.