House

Roles and make-believe

In this game of imagination, participants divide household identities among themselves. The most frequent roles mimic a nuclear household, with children pretending to be mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, and newborns. Sometimes children also cast themselves or their toys as household pets. By acting out these parts, young players imitate adult behaviour and family routines. Dolls and soft toys often fill vacant parts when there are not enough participants to cover every role. The pretend scenarios shift freely depending on what the players decide to invent during their play session.

Props and playthings

Children frequently support their pretend stories with dedicated toys and household props. Miniature play kitchens and small model homes are built specifically for this activity, giving players a physical setting for their imagined domestic routines. Fake food items and mock cooking appliances allow participants to prepare pretend meals and serve them to other family members. When manufactured toys are absent, children use simple everyday objects or dolls to stand in for relatives, infants, and kitchen utensils. These physical objects help ground the make-believe drama in relatable domestic activities.

Names across cultures

Different cultures have their own descriptive names for this childhood pastime. In German, Dutch, Swedish, and Thai, titles translate directly to family roles like mother, father, and child. The Japanese term mamagoto translates to playing cooking, while the Indonesian name rumah-rumahan means fake house. In Persian, expressions such as auntie play or mother play highlight a traditional association with young girls. Russian children call it daughters-and-mothers, while Hindi speakers know it as ghar-ghar, and Turkish children refer to it as evcilik. Each language reflects a focus on domestic life.

How House is kept

Children begin by deciding which family roles each person will assume, choosing parts such as parents, children, babies, or pets. Dolls and soft toys are set up to represent missing relatives or infants. The players then use model houses, toy kitchens, and faux food items to act out daily domestic chores, meals, and family conversations. Play unfolds spontaneously in living rooms, nursery spaces, or daycare centres.

When and where

The game does not follow a calendar date or set schedule. Children play house whenever free playtime is available, engaging in make-believe sessions during regular days at home or in group care facilities.

House is played indoors and outdoors across the globe. It is commonly found in family homes, kindergartens, nurseries, and day care centres where play spaces and toys are accessible.

What House means

Playing house allows children to explore family relationships and domestic responsibilities through pretend play. By acting out adult roles, children process everyday experiences of caretaking, food preparation, and household routines. The activity reflects how children perceive the social dynamics and domestic structures of the grown-up world around them.

Questions people ask about House

See also

Hunting with eaglesThe Central Asian tradition of hunting foxes and hares from horseback with golden eagles.KarutaJapanese playing cards from the 16th century, still raced over poems each New YearPencak silatIndonesia's many schools of full-body fighting, with strikes, locks, throws and bladesDreidelA four-sided top spun for small stakes, most often by Jewish families at Hanukkah

Good reading and sources

• House (game) on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-06.