Why do kids love big shoes?

Zayne with his drum set

by Susan Palmes-Dennis

Those who've read my first blog post on Zayne know a little of him by now. My five-year-old ward officially turned five years old last Sunday and I think he was happy with the drum set given to him as a gift.

That would at least end his “patting” of pots or even my back that he does on a daily basis. I know that aside from running he likes to play drums based on the time I spent with him.

He would usually hit the table or big plastic basket and when I ask why, he would say “I pretend it’s a drum nanay (mother).” What can I say? But I’m not telling a story about his drums.

I would tell the story about his preference for big shoes. You see, his daddy Peter got a lot of shoes which gives Zayne many pairs to try on. Mind you, it’s not just wearing the shoes, he walks in them as well.

My first reaction would be to prevent him from doing this because he may lose his balance and fall. But oftentimes I fail to do it. At four years of age, he would wear his pa’s shoes, my shoes and any large shoes he can lay his hands on.

Child psychology
He parades around the living room with his big shoes and cowboy hats. At first I thought he likes the tic tac sounds caused by the shoes he wore and dragged with him as he saw me looking at him.

But lately, Zayne also experimented with his father’s shaving kit. He would place shaving cream on a wall and use the razor on them, which worried me a bit.

I would tell him” Baby,  that is daddy’s things.”  He would answer “but my daddy says that I use this.” I would turn frantic whenever Zayne places the shaving kit just anywhere in the house so I talked to him about it. 

I told him that when he gets old he can shave because he would have a lot of hair in his body by that time. “Do you see hair on your face?,” I asked him and he would answer “nope”  so I told him “you don’t need it then.”

After that experience, me as the “nanay” went to Google and researched about child psychology, a subject I studied so many years ago in college.

Behavior
From what I gathered, there is nothing to be alarmed about with Zayne’s behavior. Psychologists always point out that children emulate the behavior of their parents or the adults surrounding them. 

MADE FOR WALKING. Zayne with his big daddy shoes.

One passage I read goes: “As you might expect, kids can learn a great deal simply from watching their parents, peers and siblings. Even the behaviors they observe on TV, video games and the Internet can impact their own thoughts and actions. Observational learning is so powerful.”

This is where I say that it’s important to ensure that kids are observing the right kind of behaviors so the parents can be sure that their kids are learning how to act responsibly. 

For now I try to enjoy the tic tac of the big shoes Zayne wears and think of how to incorporate these findings in a role play setting. Bye for now.