Copy Cat Actions

Remember when you were a kid and a sibling or friend decided it would drive you crazy if they copied everything you did? Kalisha has the annoying habit of copying things that other people do.
I know in the past, I have written about some people's actions she copied which put her in danger. That's not what I am talking about now. These are everyday little things; if I decide to call a friend and I'm talking for a little while, Kalisha will call someone so she is talking, too.

If I decide to have a soda, she will have one, also. The copying doesn't apply to things she doesn't like. For instance, if I order a chicken sandwich at McDonald's, she definitely won't copy that but she will have a cheeseburger. If I decide to buy a cookie or ice cream cone, she can't even imagine NOT getting one.
When one of her nieces or nephews snacks on some chips, she may not have the exact same kind, but she will have a snack of some kind.
I could go on and on with examples; however, her 'wanting to do what everyone else is doing' stood out this past weekend.
It was Father's Day. Kalisha purchased tickets for her and her dad to attend a minor league baseball game. When she returned home, she posted a picture of them at the game, on FaceBook. Under the picture she wrote an entire paragraph extolling the virtues of her father. I read it and immediately wanted to make a smart-aleck comment, but I refrained.
I told her those were very nice things to say about her dad. I did question her as to why she felt she needed to say them.
Her answer was exactly what I expected, "Well everybody else was saying lots of great things about their fathers, so I wanted to do that, too."
*She didn't say anything wrong, she just exaggerated their relationship a bit.

I think we are going to try a new game. Every day, there will be something I do or say or eat or watch on TV and she will need to practice NOT doing it. The only reasons I am concerned about her copycat behavior is: #1) it does tend to annoy people and
 #2) she needs practice in thinking for herself instead of allowing other people's actions to dictate her actions.