Can Evolution Help Us to Be Good Parents?

Miss Oh, my granddaughter of 1-1/2 years, forages through the family DVD cabinet, select her favorite DVD, loads it, switches on the TV and DVD player then she climbs onto the sofa, passionately clutching her Elmo, and watches the show.

Her caretaker reported to my daughter that near the end of the day, the little one picks up the other kids' belongings and puts them into their respective backpacks.

From whom has she learned these actions?

Things began to disappear. Miss Oh, her brother, age 4; mom and dad are the only inhabitants in their simple cottage nestled in a quiet, secluded, neighborhood guarded by stately matured trees.

What happened to the missing things?

To solve the mystery, as bedtime approached, my daughter observed Miss Oh. The little one toured the busy areas, selected various objects and placed them in one of her drawers; for neatness or possibly safe keeping.

Recently, the caretaker told my daughter that her end-of-the-day ritual had been to pick up the kids' belongings and places them into their backpacks before the moms arrive.

Unusual? "No.", say researchers. Children naturally over-imitate adult models. They meticulously copy adults, bad habits and all. Hence the phrase: over-imitate.

Over-imitation, researchers explain, is a result of our evolutionary path as users of complicated tools. As we progressed down this path, the tendency to imitate evolved. Clearly an advantage; after all, complicated tools require strict adherence to instructions to correctly function.

Researchers say, "Imitating also predisposes the little ones to learn social encounters more efficiently." Continuing they caution, "Over-imitation is not adaptive when the child imitates something disorganized or inefficient because unlearning unnecessary actions have proven difficult."

This research continues. Researchers seek to answer:

• How long will a child hold onto an unnecessary action?
• When and how children stop over-imitating?
• What are the effects of competition on over-imitation?

Do you want your child to be a reader? Let her see you consistently soaking up knowledge from books and newspapers. It is likely she will imitate your actions. It's evolution. Miss Oh's is a living example.

The research is based on seminal work of Andrew Whiten and others investigating the behavior of capuchin monkeys. Derek Lyons, a Yale psychologist, directed an application of this research to children.