Toddlers’ Executive Development and Pretend Play (TEDDY) is an ongoing PhD project at the UCD Babylab. It aims to study how play can contribute to the development of executive functions in toddlerhood using previous literature and two original, empirical studies with toddlers and their parents.

What does TEDDY stand for?

TEDDY stands for Toddlers’ Executive Development and Pretend Play but was also chosen as a name for this project for thematic reasons. For many children, their first toy is some form of plush toys, like a teddy bear, which soon takes on an important role in a child’s early life and in a way is their first pretend play partner. Children give voices to their teddy bears, imagine their thoughts or their feelings and are a way for children to explore new social roles, such as a caring and nurturing parent or friend to their teddy bear. As such, TEDDY both stands for the title and the thematic focus of this project.

What is currently happening with the TEDDY Study?

We are currently in the midst of our data collection process for the TEDDY Study. That means, we are welcoming toddlers and their parents to the UCD Babylab, where we are playing a series of fun little games that are meant to challenge toddlers’ pretend play and executive functioning. For example, one game challenges toddlers' working memory by requiring them to retrieve small toy cars from a set of six identical white boxes. They must recall which boxes are empty and which still contain a car. All games have been chosen to be age-appropriate, but also fun and engaging for even young children.

We began our data collection process in May 2026, and have been really grateful to the many families who have since participated in our study. We are currently inviting families back for a second lab visit to see how toddlers’ development of play and their executive functions has progressed over time. We are therefore no longer inviting new participants into the TEDDY Study, but are always open to talk about the themes of our study with interested parents, professionals, or other researchers.

Who is leading this study?

TEDDY is a project led by Tobias Constien, who is a PhD student at the School of Psychology at the University College Dublin (UCD). He is a trained dramatherapist and is interested in the topic of children’s imagination and how it relates to their development. He is supervised by Michelle Downes who is the principal investigator of the UCD Babylab, and Brendan Rooney.

The TEDDY Study is further supported by a team of lab assistants, who are assisting during the lab visits with families. The current team includes Megan Swift, Evija Colton, and Beverley Colton. You can find out more about them and their research here.

Get in touch with Tobi: