Modifying behaviour via imitation

Yesterday we took the boys to the beach. It was a glorious late summer's day, the air was soft, the river water not too warm and not too chilly, although shallow... which was lovely for the children, of course.

The blue-eyed boy, now eight (!) was constructing in the sand, a simple conical tower with a moat around it. Another boy (he must have been about eighteen months old) crawled up with great determination. I was standing nearby. As he rose to his feet and lifted a foot, I could see he was intending to bash down the tower. That would not have pleased the blue-eyed boy. So I quickly suggested, "Pat the tower sand. Show him how to do it."

The blue-eyed boy did as I suggested.

At that point the toddler's older sister came rushing up. "Don't bash it! Don't bash it!"

"It's okay," I said. "Keep patting."

The little one plumped down, reached out a tentative hand and... sure enough, he copied the blue-eyed boy. All was well.

What a simple solution, but obviously one the family had never thought to use.

Yes, imitation can be a useful and easy way to modify the behavior of small kids.