Can we say that toddlers are in the “Again” stage? Why not? Toddlers love to repeat, be it songs, books, stories, videos, jokes, games, anything that makes them feel happy and good.

When my kid was a toddler, the moment we got into any vehicle there was a question which started repeating as if on loop– “Are we there yet?”. Thanks to YouTube channels for kids, now they can even sing it as a song – in infinite loop. At least you can sing along, much better than the earlier version. Still, I end up wondering, “We just started now. Why are you asking me already?”

Now she is a bit older, and she asks, “how much more time will it take to reach this place?”. If it is within 100 minutes, she knows when the number is coming down. So that gives her some idea about estimating and understanding the concept of time.

Coming back to our topic…

Well, getting back to the topic of why toddlers love to repeat. It does not end at “Are we there yet?”. Their toys get treated the same way repeatedly. Toys get fed, washed, groomed, told the same things – over and over again. Toddlers also like reading the same books, listening to the same songs and stories multiple times. Ever wondered why?

If you have noticed carefully, repetition starts at a very early stage. When they try to roll over and cannot, they do not give up and be like, “okay let me ask for help”. They will keep repeating until they can master the action. Same goes with walking, no matter how many times they fall, they will keep at it. That is definitely something that we can learn from them.

Now that was about motor development. Cognitive development is also no different, just that they might need a lot more of our assistance over here. The more we repeat for them, the faster they will learn.

Toddlers love to repeat anything that brings joy

Repeat games

Babies and toddlers feel happier when they know what to expect next. They are not going to like as many surprises as we do. This again takes us back to one of our earlier posts on pee-ka-boo and object permanence. It takes some whole lot of learning to understand that even if something is out of sight, it might still exist. And to reach that stage of sensorimotor development, they need to repeat games like peek-a-boo often.

Catherine Lee who is a professor of psychology at the University of Ottawa psychology and president-elect of the Canadian Psychological Association says, “We are comforted by being able to predict the world.” It gives children a sense of security.

Repeat books and stories

Even if it is repeatedly reading a book, it helps them in more ways than what you can imagine. When read to each time, they are understanding not just the story, but each word, each character and every other little detail in that story. If you care to clear their repeated doubts while reading, it helps them even better.

If you think about it, don’t we adults also do that sometimes? When we watch a Christopher Nolan movie and end up feeling a bit lost here and there, don’t we feel an urge to watch it again for a clearer picture? And we do it too. So, it is only natural that toddlers whose brains are still developing need to repeat books or songs a few 100 times to get a clearer picture.

How many times have they called out the next word or name in a book? I remember every time I read Peter Pan to my toddler, she would wait for the page with pictures of mermaids to come up and then start shouting “mermaids”. She definitely felt elated at being able to help me read, and I felt proud that I was helping her learn a few things every time we read. You may also feel proud of your toddler for having picked up some of those words. It is an important milestone for them, no doubt. So, while toddlers love to repeat, it is unintentionally helping them learn a lot too.

Hear it from the experts

Here is an excerpt from a study done by Horst JS, Parsons KL and Bryan NM (2011) titled “Get the story straight: contextual repetition promotes word learning from storybooks“:

“It demonstrates that repetition is important for learning new vocabulary from books. This is consistent with recent research suggesting that statistical learning is the mechanism underlying cross-situational word learning. These data also provide good news for parents: it is not necessarily the number of different books that matter, but rather following requests to “read it again!” This may be particularly encouraging for families from disadvantaged communities who tend to have fewer books available at home.”

Repeat actions, reactions

Did you know that you could even help grow some emotional intelligence through repetition? I am sharing something that I had tried with my toddler. Whenever she laughed at my slapstick comedy, I used to repeat the action. I used to repeat it until she stopped laughing (which never really happened), or rather until I got tired. Now when she does something that makes me laugh, she repeats the action to see me laugh. It feels so cute, but again I get tired as always and initiate stopping of the repetition.

When to be concerned about repetition?

Well, having said all that, here are some signs to look out for if you still feel concerned. If kids over 3 years repeat words or sentences in the same exact way, or if they rock their body, or flap their hands repeatedly in a unusual manner, you might want to check with your pediatrician if there is a need to evaluate your child for any issues like autism or OCD.

So why do my toddlers love to repeat the same words, games, songs, (even) actions, over and over again

To sum it up, repetition is a mechanism that helps them learn and develop, both physically and cognitively. It also helps give them a sense of trust and security.

Repeat books, stories, expressions, actions, reactions, songs, games and anything that gives your toddlers joy and comfort. It will help in their motor and cognitive development in some or the other way. For those who ran to the summary directly, read the above content for more details. Know why toddlers love to repeat.

When you enjoy something that they say or do, they tend to repeat it to elicit the same reaction over and over again, until you get tired, of course. Or if they enjoy something that you do, you will be asked to repeat whatever that was. Don’t even think that they will get tired.

So, when it starts bothering your sanity, try thinking that it is helping them learn. Try to feel the joy that they are experiencing. Focus on their expressions and cute body language. If that still doesn’t help, think that they are doing it only with you and not others, because they adore you that much. Now, isn’t that something to treasure? If that still doesn’t help, try to get them to switch attention to another activity they like, or you just run away and hide for a few seconds.

Happy Parenting!

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