Imitative Play Strengthens Empathy And Socialization
Play is the best way for children to discover the world around them. At the same time, they learn to interact with their surroundings. And during the first years of life, it is mainly imitative play that fulfills this function.
Many parents instinctively initiate this type of play with their little ones. They do so without really realizing the great benefits that these small actions have for children’s mental growth.
In fact, by using imitation, children develop from birth. They begin to socialize and strengthen their empathic ability. All this happens naturally, through daily interactions with their parents and through play, books or songs that are part of everyday life.
Imitative play and socialization
The socializing function of the imitative play begins very early in children’s lives. When they make a sound and the parents repeat it, they start communicating.
Later, it is the child who begins to repeat the sounds and movements that he or she observes in his or her loved ones. Through social reinforcement (smiles, compliments, caresses), the parents shape the child’s ability to imitate. These actions develop and strengthen these skills.
In this way, their first words and simple gestures develop. Gestures can be clapping your hands or showing with your fingers how old they are. The basis for social communication is established before the small child can even use words and sentences.
To begin with, the child’s ability to imitate will be motivated by a desire to attract the attention of adults. This even without knowing what the sounds or movements they are doing really mean. But later they begin to create a connection to and understanding of what they mean and use them in a functional way.
The role of a child’s environment
Imitative play also helps children get to know the world around them. They discover how things work and acquire daily habits and routines. For example, a young child first learns to brush his hair after seeing his parent do it, can set the table while a parent does, and can pick up the phone and pretend to have a conversation after seeing it.
This imitation, which has taken place almost from the first moment (a parent does something and the child repeats), will eventually begin to take place outside the immediate context. This means that a child can begin to imitate words or actions that he or she has observed at some point without an adult having to be there at that moment.
The child is likely to imitate the actions that are most familiar. In this way, a child can pretend to cook, change a diaper on a doll or brush his teeth. By playing, the child internalizes the use of objects and establishes daily habits.
Imitative play promotes empathy
An additional benefit is that imitative play helps children to begin to develop the ability to put themselves in the situation of others and understand different emotional states. We can encourage this through simple games and with the help of regular toys. For example, the child can point to the characters in a book and mimic their expressions while a parent reads with the child.
Children’s songs can also be helpful if we use movements and gestures that fit the words, such as clenching our fists and rubbing our eyes when the song is about crying.
We can encourage our children to learn to use these emotional bodily expressions and ask them to repeat them. However, it is important to follow this imitation with reasoning and explanations that can help them understand what they mean. There are several children’s books that can be very useful in this regard.
How to use imitative play with children
Imitative play occurs naturally and instinctively between children and the adults around them. But if we want to strengthen the benefits, there are some things we can pay special attention to.
First and foremost, it is important to involve the child in daily tasks and let him or her do these with us. You can give the child a cloth to “wipe” the table with you. You can offer an empty saucepan with a spoon so that the child can “help” you cook… If you make your children a part of the daily routine, they will develop many of their skills through imitation.
