MYTH : Newborns can’t imitate.
FACT : Thanks to mirror neurons in their little brain, they can copy you.
Newborns as young as twelve to twenty one days old can imitate facial expressions, such as opening their mouths and sticking out their tongue in response to an adult doing the same. You can try this at home with even a day old newborn if your baby is in a receptive frame of mind: Bring your face close to your baby and slowly stick out your tongue. Hold it like that for a moment and wait. Your baby may echo your expression by sticking out his tongue too.
Science hold special brain cells called “mirror neurons” responsible for this imitation trait. This mirror neuron system potentially forms the basis for the human capacity to learn by imitation; why we yawn when we see someone else yawn, how we learn to talk or kick a ball and even how emotions such as grief or joy are shared.
The mirror neuron system develops naturally in infant, as babies automatically engage with their caregivers and the world around them. As parents, we can use this fact that they are naturally drawn to the face to teach them about the world and to teach them how to pay attention.
Some easy activities which you can do and help these mirror neurons do their job are:
1. Play peek-a-boo.
2. When feeding your baby, open your mouth wide to aloe your baby to mirror you.
3. Wave bye-bye.
4. Sit and read. Even a child under twelve months learns about reading through imitation. You don’t have to read the actual words of the story, simply pointing to the various pictures and talking about the colours or animals on the page does the trick. Soon you will see your child take a book on her own and imitate you, pointing to the pages and making gibberish sounds.
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