Let's just state the obvious: toddlers can be hilarious! Yes, they can try your patience, they can be very demanding, and at times it can seem that "no" is the only word left in their vocabulary. But they are still hilarious with the things they do and say.
My daughter is 21 months and is officially in the imitative stage. She's been there for a while, but it seems like it's kicked into high gear as of late. Combing her hair, brushing her teeth, "pouring" from a teapot, "eating" cupcakes, walking a doll up the doll house stairs, etc. One example sticks out to me recently.
My husband and I were at a chinese restaurant waiting to pick up some food to go when the bracket for the NCAA tournament came on. He had some dissatisfaction with a certain section of the bracket, and slapped his knee in disgust and said, "Aw, man!" You could see the serious look of study in Ava's eyes as she watched him, trying to decide what the next appropriate response from her would be. Of course, she walked right over to my husband, slapped his knee, and said, "Aw, man!" She continued to do this several times thinking it was quite hilarious....and it was.....but I also realized that in that moment, something bigger is happening. Ava. Is. Watching. Us.
Yes, she may not be able to communicate very clearly just yet, but she knows how to imitate. She does not decipher good and bad behavior and tendencies, but simply what she is seeing and hearing.
All kids imitate. That's part of their development, and it shows higher level thinking to see something, hold the thought of what someone was doing, and then imitate it back. But watching her in the restaurant slap my husband's leg made me start to think of the "bigger" life questions that we all find ourselves asking at some point.
And on that day, the questions I was asking myself was: What am I doing that is worthy of Ava's imitation? How is what she is imitating positively or negatively shaping who she is? And another big question: Am I happy with what Ava is imitating and seeing of me? Child imitation reveals much about our character, our words, and our actions. What a great heart check it is for us when a toddler slaps our knee for a second to imitate us. Yikes!
So my question to you is: Are your actions worth imitating?