The Groupie

Have you ever known someone who is so anxious to be considered one of the "in" crowd that they will say and do anything they think will get them accepted. That happens a lot around here with my two boys. Samuel is the cool crowd and Thomas desperately wants in! As a result, he will follow Sam around, repeating whatever he says and mimicking whatever he does. Fortunately for me, this most often involves coloring these days (one more reason to be thankful that S was never a wild kid). They are affectionately known around here as "Monkey See" and "Monkey Do." Case in point, today on the way to church, Sam had a very itchy leg:

Sam: "I itch mom. Why does my leg itch?"
Me: "Probably because your skin is dry. When we get there we'll put some lotion on it."
Sam: "But it really, really itches. I can't make it stop itching."
Thomas: " I know Sam!! How about we BOTH be itchy??"

This may not be good if, say, Samuel takes up any of the many activities I would not want his brother doing as well. On the other hand this could work to my advantage if I can just convince Sam that it is worth his while to be nothing but a good example. Any ideas on how to do that?