Imitating Life with a Three and Two year old

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
          ~Charles Caleb Colton

Helping Mommy cook!

We have just returned from a few days with our grandsons, Sam and Will. We drove to their home close to Washington, DC to celebrate Will's second birthday, and stayed for a few extra days so their mom and dad could spend some time helping her father get ready to move. Mom and dad were only gone over night, so it wasn't a long time... just right for us to have some fun with these two dear little ones.

Because my own experience was raising two boys, spending time with these two is kind of like "Deja vue all over again" for me. Not to mention that both boys, while very different in appearance, bear a strong resemblance to their father and his brother.

Now, however, I see them through the eyes of a grandmother, which is quite different than those of a parent. I am charmed by things that I either missed seeing or that annoyed me with my own boys. I have so much more patience and appreciate their silliness!

The boys are only 15 months apart, and are very close. They play pretty well together. And what one does, the other one has to do. Sam is a bit of a "buster" in his play, in that he is shorter and stockier in build than his little brother. He is also more tentative-- he is cautious about trying new things. Will is the running, jumping for joy little boy who throws himself into whatever he is doing. Sam, being older, has mastered certain skills that Will does not possess yet-- riding a tricycle, for instance. He is quite verbal, providing everyone with a running commentary on his life. Will is quieter, but he observes everything.

We watched these two play for two days, and over and over we saw them imitate each other. What one did the other one had to do. Will especially copied whatever his brother was doing. If Sam had a cup of water, he wanted one. If Sam roared like Simba the Lion, he roared. And Sam kept one eye on what Will was doing-- and returned the favor by imitating him.

It didn't stop with imitating each other. The boys watched their parents too. When Mommy went into the kitchen to cook, they both showed up to help. Or they imitating what they had seen Mommy do when playing with their own kitchen set. Daddy's old cell phone provides lots of opportunity for these boys to imitate what they see him do.

It dawned on me that early language skills require a great deal of imitation-- that is how these boys learn new words. Other skills-- pretty much all of them-- are learned by young children through imitation.

I don't think we were there long enough for the boys to imitate things we did, but the thought that they might was a little daunting. Here is the lesson I learned-- if I am going to be imitated by little children, held up as an example of what grownup behavior is, I'd better make sure my behavior is worthy of the imitation. What a challenge that is for all of us-- to live and behave in a way that will assure we are good examples to our children and grandchildren, worthy of their trust and imitation!