Your toddler’s love for you makes them want to be like you

Our children learn through watching us: what we do, what we say, how we say it and how we do it. It starts from a very young age and continues for the whole of our lives. Your toddler looks to you to learn about life; you are their experienced person.^[1] They might now be starting to copy some of the fun things you do when you are together, so keep on making them giggle and laugh. 

Copying your actions 

Have you noticed that your toddler has started to copy some of the things you do? They might copy some of your gestures or actions. This is because they love you so much and want to be just like you.  

Joining in with movement and play 

Your toddler will no doubt love your fun, playful side. Making play fun and enjoyable gives your toddler such a lot to look forward to. Seeing you laugh and lose your inhibitions helps them to feel that everything is possible.  

They learn so much from you spending time together. When you, say, kick your leg like a donkey and make a donkey sound, they might get the giggles. Bringing fun and laughter inspires young children and encourages them to try things for themselves.  

Keeping up with it 

Children, no matter what age, learn through repetition. You might pretend you are the penguin in the book 10 times or more before your toddler attempts to be a penguin for themselves.  

Moving in different ways is much easier for adults to achieve but your toddler will be watching and connecting how you bring the actions to life.  

Reference: 

[1] Lind, J., Ghirlanda, S., Enquist, M. (2019).  Social learning through associative processes: a computational theory. The Royal Society Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.181777