Can children pretend to say Mass?

[fhlpax]

Is it okay for a child (boy or girl) to mimic saying Mass, including the words of consecration, or should this be discouraged?

 

[Michelle_Arnold]

Many a boy first felt the stirrings of a vocation to the priesthood while “playing Mass” with grape juice and Necco wafers. There is nothing intrinsically wrong with such play, so long as there is no mockery or ridicule of holy things. As for girls, at one time there might not have been a problem with the girl taking a turn at playing the priest; but, today, when so many are confused about the possibility of women becoming priests, I can only recommend gently redirecting a girl playing at being a priest. Perhaps she might be encouraged to play the sacristan, in honor of St. Therese of Lisieux who served as a sacristan for her Carmelite religious community.