Have you ever grown tired of your child asking for the same book night after night? Or watching the same movie over and over…and over again? Before long, they’re actually quoting the book and the movie, so you not only get to read it and watch it over and over, but you hear it quoted in between. “Please,” you cry out, “Can we read a different book? Watch a different movie?” But your child doesn’t want a different book or movie…and that’s good because repetition is normal for children and, more importantly, it serves a wonderful purpose in their lives. 

Repetition helps our children identify patterns. The ability to recognize patterns actually helps them learn language as well as vocabulary. They are also learning patterns of social interaction and emotional responses that they can then translate into their everyday life by observing the patterns around them. Sometimes this means that they will repeat the same book, the same movie, the same game over and over again.

Repetition provides our children with a source of comfort and security. Remember, they are experiencing the world for the first time—first steps, first rainbow, first dog, first cat, first everything. It’s new, unpredictable, and stressful. As they learn the patterns of these experiences, it becomes less stressful. In the meantime, repetition adds a time of predictability, comfort, security. A favorite toy, a beloved story, a favorite movie…they all provide moments of comfort and security in their predictability.

Repetition also provides a sense of competence. Yes, our children learn the books and movies so well they begin to quote them. Each quote represents an accomplishment, a competency in their ability to memorize and learn. Each time they apply a quote to some situation unrelated to the movie, it represents a competency in their ability to remember, generalize, and utilize information in an appropriate situation.

Repetition may seem incessant and tiring to you, but for our children it becomes a way to identify patterns important to life, experience a sense of predictability and security, and develop a sense of mastery and competence. With that in mind, read that book for the umpteenth time and watch that movie for another night or two…or three…or four. Your children will reap the benefits and remember it for a lifetime.