Your Clever Toddler in Week 69: Copying Behavior from the TV Screen

In these imitation trials, the programming toddlers watched was simple—the dowel-hitting adults moved slowly and deliberately, a far cry from most of today's noisy, fast-moving kids shows that are packed with flashy, high-speed animation. But even these seemingly boring actions inspired the young toddlers to act out what they saw once they got their hands on similar materials.

That's why parents need to be reminded that from age 14 months, TV is a powerful influence. Your guilty-indulgence soap operas, those programs on the cartoons-for-grownups channel, the nightly news—all of it can, incredibly, become fodder for imitation for your toddler if it's on. (And if you're watching it, a program seems even more enticing to your little one—remember, babies as young as 50 weeks look to you to determine where they should focus their attention. And you also know that by week 58, mimicry is in full swing.)

Bottom line? If TV or other on-screen entertainment is part of your child's environment, keep it on sparingly, view it together, and make sure what he or she watches is positive and proactive, not negative or violent.

Coming soon, look forward to: Week 70: Sorting Objects into Categories (All by Herself!)
Review the most recent accomplishments: Week 68: Why Experimenting Leads to Learning

Curious about how else your toddler might be developing right now? Learn more about her clever brain and her growing body here:

• What's happening in Month 16?
• Here's what our pediatrician says you might be worried about around now.