But Why?
Mila is, without a doubt, exceeding expectations when it comes to communicating. She's using words and sentences in ways I wouldn't expect. There are two things worth saying about the whole thing:
1. She's doing it because of Alexis. Alexis spends hours every day teaching Mila new words. When Alexis is talking to Mila, she will pause to ask Mila to repeat words and phrases. "We went to the Pirates game today. Mila, say 'Pirates,'" for example.
No adult on the planet has as much patience for teaching vocabulary as Alexis does.
2. It doesn't matter. I can tell you with certainty that Mila isn't dumb, but being ahead with her words doesn't mean anything in the long run. She may end up President of the United States one day. She may also end up wanting to be a stay at home pet rock mom. Either way, her place in adult life won't be because she figured out how to say, "Help me put shoes on?" at 24 months of age.
That said, the fact that she now says, "No, thank you" when she doesn't want something will absolutely lead her to good things in life. The way she says it is so tiny and cute that I am going to end up buying her a pony any day now. Also, manners. I'm a sucker for good manners.
Long of the short, Mila is doing well with the talky talky and it's Alexis' fault.
All Alexis' fault.
ALL ALEXIS' FAULT.
It is absolutely 100% Alexis' fault that Mila has already started in with the "Why?" phase.
"Mila, sit down."
"Why?"
"Mila, eat your dinner."
"Why?"
"Mila, put your pants back on."
"Why?"
"Mila, put the matches back in your pocket."
"Why?"
The Why? phase is absolutely a necessary evil in childhood, but WHY DID IT HAVE TO START SO EARLY? WHY WHY WHY WHY WHY?
Thursday, June 23, 2016
Reader Comments (1)
oh sweet jeezus....I'm dreading the day when my kids learn WHY? My pregnant, "I'm going to be the perfect parent" self thought I would always take the time to explain the world to them in great detail. My "let's try and survive the next 10 minutes" self knows I'm going to use "Because I said so" way too often!
I'm a sucker for good manners, too. Every kid should have them.