Children use age as a proxy for status
Humans preferentially learn from those we consider high status. Kids also imitate and absorb the norms of their higher status peers, especially those in the same peer group/social category as them. Age is often be a proxy for higher status – slightly older children are often preferentially imitated by younger children.
References:
- Culture Studies
- https://www.jstor.org/stable/1129197
- The Nurture Assumption