How long until someone claims that this has nothing to do with socialization, but it's just cute that the baby wants to be like their parents?

That baby sounded very angry to me. My husband walked in the room asking me why I was listening to a screaming baby!

I think it's rather humourous that the behaviour of public speakers, of any sort, can be so stereotyped that infants can imitate it so well.

And yes, it's adorable.

I would not say that this is bad for that kid, but similar things have had bad effects on children in the past.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marjoe_Gortner

I prefer it with subtitles:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hC9bzunNMo

Yes, we are religious Jews and my 2.5 year old imitates his father praying, swaying the way he does and mumbling along to the sound of the words he says out loud. This is a very common developmental aspect of a growing child and I'm sure a child will imitate whatever environment he's in. Whether it's the horrific YouTube of the smoking child or toddlers dressed up as gangsta rappers holding a guns. Why is this noteworthy?

...Because people don't understand that a) children imitate what they see and b) CHILDREN IMITATE WHAT THEY SEE; they don't have profound religious experiences that call them to preach to a congregation in nonsense babytalk.

The interaction of the adult (parent?) and child is an interesting contrast with that in the video you posted yesterday of the toddler pageant princess.

I didn't think that would be as cute as I thought it was. I figured I'd be really disturbed by it, but it's kind of adorable. : )

Terror because parents hold so much power over children? That's life. The same mama cat who teaches her kittens to politely defecate in a box of sand and cover it, also teaches them to chase rodents and rip them apart with their teeth.
This is terrifiying why? Because those who don't like religion have a problem with it? Have a problem with what is being taught,but not that parents teach and kids are teachable. The same thing that allows kids to learn this is also what causes them to be capable of going to school,standing in line, covering their mouths when they cough,saying excuse me and performing the act of being polite little children. This is probably surprising because it is not one of the roles they are accustomed to see children playing.
A child getting up from the table,saying excuse me, going to the bathroom,closing the door, sitting on the toilet, wiping itself,flushing the toilets, washing his hands,and then returning to join the family is something none of us would notice.But the proper way to relieve one's self is just as much a learned ritual as what this child is doing.

Spend some time with some autistic kids and you will soon see how much of "normal" everyday completely unremarkable behavior is actually due to children being socialized and learning what is acceptable behavior.

Heheh...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hC9bzunNMo&feature=related

This reminds me of Marjoe, I don't know if this has been brought up before, I'd be surprised if it hadn't been because it's a clear example of the downside to encouraging this type of behaviour.

Anyway, here's a link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marjoe. Extremely interesting documentary about the influence of religion and adults on children.

This is actually a great example of paralanguage, which I just got finished teaching in a social psychology class. The child is clearly learning not just words, but everything else: gestures, tone of voice, pitch, body posture while speaking, inflection, etc. Take the words out, and you can still understand that this was intended as a particular kind of preaching. This is really useful to me, because the college kids I teach often have a hard time understanding just how much of our language is unrelated to words.

(For my purposes, the fact that this occurs in a religious setting is totally irrelevant. The kid could be imitating a salesman or a parent or teacher and the effect would be the same. But there's only so many times I can use "a kid playing teacher" as an example in class, so I'm glad to have another one.)

Also, as a general comment, I should point out that in sociology saying something is a performance does not necessarily mean that it isn't genuinely felt. All non-instinctual action is performance, at least according to some theories. I have no idea whether a preverbal child can have religious feelings, but saying that s/he is "performing" doesn't mean s/he is just putting on a show and doesn't feel anything. It just means s/he has learned a particular set of behaviors that are considered appropriate for a specific situation. Same for adults. For example, I can have genuine feelings of love toward my husband, and sociologists would still say I'm "performing" the role of loving wife. Doesn't mean I don't actually love him, just that I'm using a specific set of behaviors (kisses, hugs, gifts, acts of kindness, whatever) to express those feelings.

Ask any Muslim who performs the prayers at home--little kids consider that part of a routine and have their own "kid reactions" to it. Sometimes they mimic the bowing behind you, sometimes they clamber onto your back while you're bowing, sometimes they wait for your raised ringer as you're on your knees and push that finger down. Even my cat acts strangely when I pray, because I'm suddenly not paying her any attention and thus she lies out on the floor directly in front of me, hoping to catch my attention when I bow.

Practicing religion is like debating politics over the dinner table or doing your hair in the morning--a part of life that kids recognize but don't quite "get" yet. Sometimes they're very good at impersonating it without knowing what they're doing, like in the video.

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As clearly shown in this video, part of socialization is expression (through body language and tone for example) and this child is clearly picking up on it. She's got the strong use of voice going on plus, and most especially,the charismatic hand gestures. She is learning that part of being social and being noticed is about  how you display yourself physically.

I have seen my own son do something similar setting up my camera tripod so that it looks like a microphone. And it is definitely a case of copying behaviors he has observed. Even the flamboyant flourish of a hand as a nervous gesture. Interestingly many young homosexuals have the same environmental factors thrust upon them also. And since scientists doing research in the field say there doesn't seem to be a genetic reason for being gay it all comes down to early childhood influence and choice.
Just because a child is raised by a religious family or for that matter a gay couple doesn't mean that there kid is going to follow in there footsteps. yes he or she may develop accents and patterns of speech. Or postures and eating habits. But personality doesn't influence what you believe. If anything should be discussed as an influence perhaps infant baptism should be considered. those children grow up being told they already are catholic or protestant or whatever denomination and they haven't been given a choice. Why are you that denomination? usually gets the answer that's what my mom is. An interesting group to look into as far as long term exposure are the Jehovah's witnesses as they have to make a choice and decision to dedicate themselves and will only be accepted as candidates for baptism if they can show that they understand what it means. There are still young ones but usually over 12 but they also have older members who are from every background you can imagine.