Through the eye of a kid

Kids are curious creatures and their life is full of adventure. The stories they make up, the games they play, the way they behave and every other thing they do; all these has always fascinated every adult. “I wonder where he picked those words from?”, “How does he know how to wear those earphones?” all these little surprises leave us baffled. What we don’t understand is that kids observe us way closely than we are aware of.

‘Kids have never been very good at listening to their elders
But they have never failed to imitate them.’

This is quote is by James Bladwin, he was the greatest writer of 20th century, the author of “Where the heart is”. He was also well known for quotes and poetries on humanity. He knew something about kids at that time what we need to understand today. As elders we give them specific direction and that is where we fail. Firstly we fail because we think they will obey. Secondly, because we do not show them how things are to be done.

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

But for kids it is an important way tool for learning. To simply say ‘that what kids do’ is underestimating the importance of kid’s development. From the moment they are born kids possess the ability to imitate. When kids watch us perform a movement, the movement centre or motor nerves are stimulated. 3 to 4 months old emulate facial expressions and eventually they start making sounds and emotional expression. This is a sign of language and social development.

After the age of 1, learning through imitation becomes a lot complex because they will be developing fine motor and gross motor skills. They will be repeating simple words. Slowly and steadily your child will monitor your daily activity such as sweeping the floor or doing dishes. During this stage, kids depend on you for learning good behavior. “Do as I say and not as I do.” is confusing phrase to kids. To make them understand what they need to do, kids must see you perform that task. Kids till the age of 5 have rote memory; it means they learn almost everything without understanding. They speak or behave in a certain manner because they have seen you or have heard you. Next time you hear your child say something alarming, it’s time for damage control.

It’s pretty clear “If we want them to be kind, we should be kind first”. When you don’t want your child to say something what you just spoke, apologize. Remind them what consequences are if they show same behavior.

It is obvious that some point of time kids will realize that an adult can get away with certain things but as a child they cannot act anyhow they wish to. But till then all we can do is to be careful in the way we act and what we say.