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You Can Say That Again
Kids Love Repetition
By Linda Sharp
Human beings have long been referred to as creatures of habit. We are comfortable with our little routines. We take solace in knowing that A does, in fact, always come before B, and that one plus one always equals two.
Ritual is important – take the way I always remove my left contact before my right and how this is always followed by one and a half squirts of soap – never two full squirts – with which to wash my face.
Shampoo manufacturers even cater to our need for repetition such as the infamous "Lather, Rinse, Repeat." So if repeating does indeed make human beings feel safer, children must be the safest feeling creatures on the planet.
Think about it. One of your child's first communicative attempts probably had something to do with getting you to redo a funny face or sing a song over and over. (Though I am still trying to figure out why my children loved hearing their father sing his college fight song ad infinitum, making me ad nauseum.)
The Teletubbies hit on this with the toddler-friendly phrase, "Again, again!" Roll your eyes all you like, but the small children love this part of the show. I'm sure the producers love the low production costs – I mean how much can it cost to hit the rewind button?
As kids begin to grow, their lust for repetition can seriously begin to grate upon a parent's nerves. We all marvel at how they can watch the same video over and over and over without wearing a hole in the tape.