Cameronspeak

As recently as a couple months ago, I witnessed toddlers interacting/talking to their parents in a completely indecipherable language. I could NOT figure out how parents actually had a conversation with these learning talkers, or even began to comprehend what they wanted or needed.

Now I understand! I have one of my own. I think only a child's parents or primary caregivers can truly translate this language (somewhere between first words and three to four-word phrases). Unless you know a child's habits and dialect, so to speak, only a small portion of their words will make sense (at least for a little bit, at least in boys).

Here are some of Cameron's habits:

- Cutting his word in half and only saying the second half. Just being a lazy talker! I know he knows the words, but sometimes he'll just feel like saying "Dee" for Daddy, "T" for eat, etc.

- When using words that end in "n," he almost always adds a "t" sound as well. I know he can say n's, because he starts words with them, but it is evidently much more difficult to end them that way! Examples: moon(t), spoon(t), down(t), bean(t).

- Adding a "b" sound to words that start with "u." Examples (b)up, (b)uh-oh.

- Mastering to perfection words that he doesn't use the most, or need to know necessarily, but enjoys saying. Things like pickle, einsteins, cookie, wipes.

I think this is normal - he's had his hearing checked and seems to comprehend what he needs to. He hasn't regressed persay. I'm trying not to get too overboard...I want him to speak well but I don't, for example, deny him things until he says the right word - that just ends in frustration. I feel like he knows it in his head, but until he decides to make a real effort to have it come out of his mouth...no dice.

Dice, by the way, is a word he can say quite well. ;)