Summary Sheldon chose Penny as his maternal figure in The Big Bang Theory because she filled the void left by Mary's absence, as highlighted in a new Young Sheldon post. Penny's friendship with Sheldon taught him to be more social and helped him navigate outside his inner circle, contributing to his character development. Despite initial resistance, Penny became comfortable being Sheldon's caretaker and protector.

A new Young Sheldon social media post confirms Sheldon's replacement for Mary in The Big Bang Theory. Mary had three kids, but it has always been clear that the Cooper matriarch prefers the boy genius over Georgie and Missy. Further proving that is the Young Sheldon season 6 finale, where Mary opted to leave the rest of the family behind to go with Sheldon to Germany. Once he moves to Pasadena for graduate school, however, Sheldon would need to find someone else to cater to him the way Mary does.

In this new hilarious Young Sheldon update, it's confirmed that Sheldon eventually chooses Penny to be his maternal figure in The Big Bang Theory. Check out the clip below:

The post is actually devoted to the origins of "Soft Kitty," but it's such an odd parallel to make, considering that Mary also sang the same song in The Big Bang Theory. Young Sheldon could have used videos that both featured Mary and Sheldon to emphasize its point.

Why Sheldon Chose Penny As His Maternal Figure In Big Bang Theory

Laurie Metcalf's older Mary appeared early on in The Big Bang Theory. From the moment she was introduced, her dynamic with Sheldon was quickly established. However, since she didn't live in Pasadena, she would only come to visit her son once or twice a year. This left Sheldon having to find someone else to fill in the void that his mother's absence had created. While Leonard and the rest of his friends were incredibly patient with him, they didn't possess the maternal care that Sheldon was missing.

Sheldon's dilemma was resolved when Penny was introduced in The Big Bang Theory. Based on the established continuity for the show, she was his first female friend in Pasadena. Unlike the boys, Penny was more understanding and caring, which were qualities that reminded the socially-awkward genius of his mother. As seen in the clip above, Penny wasn't exactly happy with Sheldon demanding her to do things for him. As time went on, however, and as their friendship got deeper, she became more comfortable with the role of being his caretaker and sometimes even protector.

Much has been said about Sheldon's friendship with Leonard in The Big Bang Theory, but his dynamic with Penny was equally important. Penny taught Sheldon to be more social. While the boys didn't care about being social outcasts, spending time with Penny gave Sheldon a better idea of how to deal with people who weren't part of his inner circle. Most importantly, Penny also called out Sheldon's bad behavior, which contributed to his significant, albeit slow character development.

Source: @youngsheldoncbs/Instagram