The command to repent and be baptized is linked with the innocence of children. In these two verses we have a slightly altered parallelsim:
And again I say unto you,
ye must repent,
and become as a little child,
and be baptized in my name,
or ye can in nowise receive these things.
And again I say unto you,
ye must repent,
and be baptized in my name,
and become as a little child,
or ye can in nowise inherit the kingdom of God.
The only thing that saves these two verses from being exact repetitions is the reversal of the order of becoming as a little chilled and the command to be baptized. This order was changed to avoid having direct duplication, but duplication was the intent. This is an important principle, so it is repeated. It is repeated in a slightly different order so that we may know that the repetition is intentional, and for emphasis.
Textual: The New Testament reference for becoming as a child is Matthew 18:2-3
Matthew 18:2-4
2 And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,
3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
“By becoming his humble followers, we can properly teach our children to follow us as their parents and, in turn, to follow Christ. Our main goal should be to become disciples of Christ in all of our contacts with our children. Becoming his disciples is the foundation of all parenting, and having right hearts is the essence of discipleship. For this reason, the Lord taught that we must “become as a little child” in order to enter his kingdom (see 3 Ne. 11:37). He doesn’t want us to be childish, but childlike. It’s the heart of a child he wants us to have, because “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh” (Matt. 12:34). A child’s heart is “submissive, meek, humble, patient, full of love” (Mosiah 3:19). A child’s heart is compassionate; it can sympathize with others, sense their needs, and respond to them. With such a heart or with such attitudes and characteristics, we “will not have a mind to injure one another, but to live peaceably” (Mosiah 4:13)”. (Douglas E. Brinley and Daniel K. Judd, Eternal Families [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1996].)