4-year-old imitating others

0lordy

Hi all,

Our 4 year-old boy imitates other children, which I believe is normal enough - however, he seems to really copy everything that others kids do, even his 1.5 year-old sibling.

I would like to encourage him not to copy others, as it seems that he will end up mindlessly following what others do, and I would prefer him to make his own choices.

So, should I just ignore it, assuming he'll grow out of it, or should I encourage him not to copy others?

Thanks,

0lordy

Deliverance

0lordy wrote: »

Hi all,

Our 4 year-old boy imitates other children, which I believe is normal enough - however, he seems to really copy everything that others kids do, even his 1.5 year-old sibling.

I would like to encourage him not to copy others, as it seems that he will end up mindlessly following what others do, and I would prefer him to make his own choices.

So, should I just ignore it, assuming he'll grow out of it, or should I encourage him not to copy others?

Thanks,

0lordy

From personal experience... My little one is doing the same. It must be a stage that they go through. I feel that the way my little one is acting at the moment is outside her nature and it annoys me a bit because it is really not her. She is just copying stuff from others i.e. developing /learning an attitude.

It really pissed me off (pardon the language). I dealt with this by imitating her actions i.e. throwing my own huff and sulk action everytime she showed this attitude. She found this strange at first and wasn't sure what to do about it, but eventually she realised that daddy was acting like a prat by throwing these same huffs that she was throwing out. Subsequently she got back to herself by realising that she was acting like a prat in her own little way.

In a way I think that my little darling can easily become a little bitch if given the oppurtunity. I'm working hard on not making that happen. Being a parent is bloody hard work.

0lordy

I guess there are 2 aspects to imitation:

One is picking up "bad" behaviour from others at playschool/elsewhere - doing stuff that's out of character. I reckon that's normal enough, testing boundaries to see what he'll get away with. The is to ensure he's well aware of the boundaries.

The other is mirroring others' behaviour when in their company - just following the actions of peers, as I said even those of his little brother. I would have expected the roles to be reversed in the the younger would copy the older. Same for any other kids that come to the house. Like I said, probably not a biggie, but my tendency is to try to get him to stop copying others, but maybe I should just let it go.

jmbkay

I really wouldnt worry about this. I know it is irritating and maybe embarrassing for you, but your child is asserting himself and gettin attention from you at the same time. This is part of his development and will pass. Lots of children of this age do lots of different things and this seems to be one of his things. Play it down. If you feel you have to explain to others, do it on the quiet. I am speaking from my experience as a parent and from working with mothers and children.

I think that this time next year this wont be a problem, but knowing kids something else will!