My daughter tells me that my 22 month old grandson talks
more to me than most other people. It is possibly because I have endless
patience for monosyllabic conversation with very cute, three-feet-high
munchkins. But I think it is more likely because I find the progression of
language riveting and will help him explore language for hours at a time.
When my grandson initially began to speak, the first thing
he called me was “Bam Bam”. He could hear the “a” sound and the “m” in
“Grandma,” but the other letters were not accessible in the beginning. A few
months later, he began to call me “Drum Drum.”
He was able to add in the “r” sound but still needed to keep the
syllables the same. Just last month, I became “Grandma.” All the letters are
working now!
I enjoyed listening to my own children explore language many
years ago. One of my favorite memories is of our youngest daughter, two years
old at the time, at the dinner table, trying unsuccessfully to get a word in
while her siblings talked on and on. She finally stood up and announced, “MY
talking to you!”
She was eventually able to switch out the adjective for a
pronoun and a linking verb and went on to become a technical editor for a geo-environmental
engineering consulting firm.
You never know where the exploration of language will take
you.
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