The upbringing of children and the development of children depends on the possibility of imitation by adults. No methods of upbringing and development of a child can compete with mimesis. The child has initially the maximum imitation of who is next to him and what is happening in his physical environment. And in the process of this imitation, his physical organs and body take their final forms.
Being in an atmosphere of love and imitating healthy examples is the normal state of a child. As it was indicated in the course materials, since antiquity, imitation (mimesis) has been considered the most important characteristic of human existence in general. Imitation and example are recognized by Plato as a crucial role in the upbringing of children and youth. With the help of imitation, the development of the totality of all aspects of human existence is carried out: motor, sensory, moral, social, spiritual and speech.
Aristotle was also convinced of the strong influence of example and image on the younger generation. He believed that it was not necessary to surround children and teenagers only with the perfect and ideal. The imperfect should not be removed from the field of experience and experience of young people. Rather, in contact and critical interaction with him, one should immunize oneself against their actions. But this approach is suitable for use in middle and high school, since a small child is not able to critically distance himself from a bad image. There is no need to prove the great importance of imitation in the mental maturation of the child, it is clear by itself. Exclusively through imitation, the child learns language - this is the main tool of individual and social mental development.
However, in our time, the concept of learning through imitation, as well as the concept of natural forms of education and upbringing in general, seem to be firmly forgotten. They have no place in textbooks on pedagogy and psychology. although in recent years imitation has been slowly infiltrating textbooks on developmental psychology, but under the changed name "model learning".