2025 Volume 57 Issue 1 Pages 289-296
This study examined the influence of caregivers’ actions on young children’s decisions to act and their subsequent development of play in situations where children encounter materials for the first time. Using milk carton pieces as the material for the study, we compared the actions of older children in a class who had prior experience with the material with children in a class encountering the material for the first time as their caregivers performed the same “pile and play” action. As a result, it was inferred that the milk carton pieces were regarded by the former class as “a material to search for fun through free interaction” and by the latter class as “a material to find new fun by imitating the caregiver’s actions.” The latter was considered “a material for finding new interests by imitating the caregiver’s actions.” The study also distinguished imitation by infants as a result of longing or the pursuit of better things for themselves. Furthermore, the study considered that infants learn new things by imitating others’ actions when they pursue their own potential for worthy goals.
