Smalll CopyCats

Fortunately for parents, babies are so good at learning, they do it even when we don't know we are teaching them.

Babies learn by watching, hearing, feeling, and tasting the world around them.

In a way, your home is your baby's first classroom. Every waking hour, you can bet your child is learning something.

Babies are the world's best copycats.

Babies learn a lot by watching what you do and then trying it themselves. For example, babies love to copy your facial expressions. When you smile, babies try to smile too. If you stick your tongue out at a newborn, the baby will stick out his tongue in return. Researchers have found that babies as young as 42 minutes old will copy adults who stick out their tongues.

Nobody had to teach your newborn to copy you. Babies are born copycats. It's one powerful way they learn how to act.

As they get older, babies get even better at copying what they see people do. Before they can talk, babies may hold toy telephones to their ears just like mom or dad.

Researchers have found that 12-month-old children can remember and copy some actions they see up to four weeks later-even if they haven't had a chance to practice them in the meantime. When your child is watching, you become the teacher of a very quick learner with a surprisingly long memory.

You're not your baby's only teacher.

Every person your baby watches might be teaching her something. Even though children copy their primary caregivers more than other people, babies can watch and learn to imitate anybody they see. This includes family members, babysitters, neighbors, and even strangers.

Yet most of us invite strangers into our homes every day. We watch these strangers when we turn on our televisions. So does your baby.

Most American children watch television - and lots of it. On average, children under six watch three hours a day. Children under two years old, by conservative estimates, are exposed to about two hours of television per day. Babysitters and caregivers often use television and videos as a babysitting strategy, and the television frequently remains turned on during other home activities. Do children learn from watching television? And if so, what are they are learning? Babies are very good at imitating what they see people in TV doing - babies learn how to act by watching other people. The research shows that infants as young as 14 months old will copy some of what they see on television, even when that person is a stranger and children 2 years-old are even more likely to copy what they see on TV. Think of what you baby might see! This doesn't mean that young children will copy everything they see on TV. Other research shows that if the activity is too complicated, babies will not imitate it. But with more simple actions or small parts of complicated ones, babies can - and will - try to imitate what they see on TV. And as children get older, they get better and better at imitating what they see.

Helpful Parenting Tips

Our children are watching and learning from us in everything we do - from everyday actions to special occasions. They watch how we talk, how we eat, how we react to situations, and how we relate to others.

• Treat your home as your child's first classroom, and the people inside your home as your child's first teachers. Babies are active learners from the start!

• Remember that babies watch-and-copy all the things we do. It's never too early to provide positive examples.

• Think about what television brings into your home. What does your child see, and what might your child copy later?
Above all, enjoy the amazing learning abilities your child possesses.