We’ve all done it, seen it, and are guilty of it… staring. Children are always watching and watching and taking in what people are doing. This is how they learn. Once my niece and nephew arrived, I realized how much kids look at people. (getting caught hand in the cookie jar…literally!) When they’re looking at someone they know, we don’t usually say anything but use it for a learning experience,…”that’s how you do this.” But for some reason when they’re looking at a stranger so intently, we tell them ‘stop looking!’ Poor things, they must be so confused! Not only that, have you ever noticed how many adults do exactly this, coughing as much as a child? And we still have the nerve to tell the kids to stop?
People watching, that’s what we adults call it. Don’t get me wrong, I love people watching. When I lived in Vancouver, that was my favorite past time… have a coffee and go to the beach, to a park, downtown, wherever, to people watch (obviously I had a lot more free time then! !) . The airport is another sweet place to people watch. Why are we doing this? Because human nature is very interesting! Look how many reality shows are on TV and how many have been on more than one season with millions of viewers every week!
This is probably the same reason why we as humans ‘study’ animals and their behavior… to learn!
When my son stares at people now I’m not embarrassed, now I tell him what that person is doing, maybe why he’s doing whatever. If it’s something that I don’t want my son to do, I tell him “that’s not very nice so we don’t do it”. However, it goes beyond actions. Somewhere along the way, he detected unfavorable actions in our house… even if he gets a response, he is told that’s not acceptable and he won’t get what he wants… this is a job in progress!
We all learn by watching and listening to others. That’s what school is based on, a dance class, hockey, whatever you’re learning you see or hear someone else doing it first (for most things).
The next time you’re somewhere and your child is staring at someone, try using it as a learning opportunity instead of embarrassing yourself. I know, it can take a few times, but it’s really worth it, because remember… your child is watching you and how you interact, too.