Copying actions later
Babies can remember a new action and copy it later. In a lab study, half of 9-month-olds copied actions they had seen the day before, and a newer study found signs of this from 6 months. Copying straight away, like clapping back, is common by about 8 months.
How sure are we?
Not sure yet. Only small lab studies have measured this so far, and they disagree a little about when it starts. How we know this
What it’s a sign of
Your baby is remembering what they've seen and using it later, which is one way babies learn from the people around them.
Older research put copying after a delay at around 9 months; a recent study of 200 babies found it at 6 months, which may partly come down to the toys used. A famous study reported newborns copying faces, but a large study that followed babies through their first weeks found no copying.
We don't know the age by which nearly all babies do this. The largest studies of how this changes from 6 to 24 months haven't been read yet.
A classic study on this
Infant Imitation and Memory: Nine-Month-Olds in Immediate and Deferred Tests
Andrew N. Meltzoff · 1988 · Child Development
- Children
- About 120 babies in two studies
- Where
- A lab in Seattle, United States
- Ages
- About 9 months
- How
- Researchers showed babies new actions with toys and tested them later
- What it found
- Half of the 9-month-olds shown three new actions copied at least two of them a day later, against about 1 in 5 babies who hadn't been shown.
- Limits
- A group result in one lab, not the age when individual babies start.
A classic study on this
Infant imitation after a 1-week delay: Long-term memory for novel acts and multiple stimuli.
Andrew N. Meltzoff · 1988 · Developmental Psychology
- Children
- About 36 toddlers
- Where
- A lab in Seattle, United States
- Ages
- 14 months
- How
- Researchers showed toddlers new actions and tested them a week later
- What it found
- A week after seeing six new actions, 11 of 12 toddlers copied at least three, and 8 of 12 copied an unusual one (touching a panel with their head).
- Limits
- A small group in one lab.
A study that questioned earlier findings
Deferred Imitation: A 9‐Month Revolution or an Emerging Ability at 6 Months?
Sofie A. Beyer, Trine Sonne, Osman S. Kingo, Peter Krøjgaard · 2025 · Infancy
- Children
- About 200 babies
- Where
- Denmark
- Ages
- 6 to 12 months
- How
- Researchers showed babies new actions and tested them a day later
- What it found
- Babies of every age tested, from 6 months, copied actions a day later as a group, and older babies copied more.
- Limits
- We have only read the summary.
A main source for the ages
The development of declarative memory in human infants: Age-related changes in deffered imitation.
Harlene Hayne, Joanne Boniface, Rachel Barr · 2000 · Behavioral Neuroscience
- Children
- Not given in the summary we read
- Where
- New Zealand
- Ages
- 6, 12 and 18 months
- How
- Researchers showed babies actions and tested them a day later
- What it found
- Babies of 6, 12 and 18 months copied actions a day later. The youngest were put off by a change of room or toy, older ones less so.
- Limits
- We have only read the summary.
A main source for the ages
Similarities and differences in child development from birth to age 3 years by sex and across four countries: a cross-sectional, observational study
Ilgi Ozturk Ertem, Vibha Krishnamurthy, Mphelekedzeni C. Mulaudzi, Yanina Sguassero, Hakan Balta, Ozlem Gulumser · 2018 · Lancet Global Health
- Children
- About 4,900 healthy children
- Where
- Argentina, India, South Africa and Turkey
- Ages
- Birth to 3½ years
- How
- Trained staff asked parents open questions about what their child could do, at health clinics
- What it found
- Found the age by which half of children reached more than 100 milestones. Most came at similar ages in all four countries, and for boys and girls. For example, half of children waved bye-bye by about 11 months and said a first word by about 9 months.
- Limits
- Only four countries and no rural areas, children from city clinics, and only healthy children (about half of those who came were left out for health reasons). It gives the age for half of children, not the full spread.
A classic study on this
Imitation of Facial and Manual Gestures by Human Neonates
Andrew N. Meltzoff, Maggie Moore · 1977 · Science
- Children
- Not given in the summary we read
- Where
- Not given in the summary we read
- Ages
- 12 to 21 days old
- How
- Researchers made faces and hand movements and filmed babies' responses
- What it found
- Reported that babies a few weeks old copied faces and hand movements.
- Limits
- We have only read the summary. A later, larger study didn't find this.
A study that questioned earlier findings
Comprehensive Longitudinal Study Challenges the Existence of Neonatal Imitation in Humans
Janine Oostenbroek, Thomas Suddendorf, Mark Nielsen, Jonathan Redshaw, Siobhan Kennedy‐Costantini, Jacqueline Davis, Sally Clark, Virginia P. Slaughter · 2016 · Current Biology
- Children
- About 100 babies
- Where
- Not given in the summary we read
- Ages
- 1 to 9 weeks
- How
- Researchers tested the same babies several times in their first weeks
- What it found
- Babies were no more likely to make a face or movement after seeing it than after seeing a different one, so the study found no copying.
- Limits
- We have only read the summary.
If you’re worried about your child, talk to your child and family health nurse or GP.
Last checked 2 November 2026