During the three times I've traveled abroad, I remember one
thing in particular always stood out to me as a roadblock and something I was
nervous about. Side note: Yes, I do realize that only traveling out of the
country three times doesn't really make me an expert on the subject.
The thing that always intimidated me the most was not speaking
the language. I know we had translators and everything, but there would always
be those brief instances when you might not have had one along with you. Either
that or you're the token moron who instead prefers to try and communicate in
barely functional, broken Spanish.
I bring this up because I would imagine this is exactly how
Ellie feels right now as she's in the midst of attempting to learn to speak.
Although, the more I think about it, it may be Bethany and I feeling this way
whereas Ellie's content in her uneducated bliss.
Ellie's ability to speak has been on our radar for quite
some time as we were told she needed to have three words down at the time of
her last doctor's appointment. While "Uh Oh", "Baaa", and
incoherent babbling resembling "Dada" and/or "Mama" may not
have been what the doctor was going for, he seemed content with her the
progress.
The problem is that after her last appointment, I kind of
forgot about being intentional in teaching Ellie words. Don't get me wrong, I
still feel like I'm doing all of the right things. I'm reading to her each and
every day. I'm engaging her in conversation by explaining the intricacies of
everyday life to her. We even listen to music a lot of times whilst I sing
along. Actually, that last one may or may not be a good thing.
What brings this to the forefront is the constant process of
comparing Ellie to other kids that are a similar age. For example, plenty of
other kids are speaking in consistent and easily distinguishable manners. You
know, the likes of "Mama" and "Dada". Ellie's cousin even
knows the word "Please" already!
Honestly, if I'm telling the truth, I hadn't even really
considered the fact Ellie might be behind in regards to her lexicon. And yes,
I'm aware of the irony of me talking about my child being behind was using
terms like 'lexicon' in ordinary sentences. To me, it feels like she's doing
well. For example, I can tell her to do a task like pick up her toys with no
accompanying motions and she will do just that. Not only that, but Ellie has
proven remarkably adept at letting me know what she wants without verbal cues.
Verbal cues outside of the word, "ha", that is.
I think that since Bethany actually encounters other
children more often that I do, she's able to easily compare where other kids
are at. It kind of makes me wonder if I have dropped the ball with teaching
Ellie words in the way I should be and what I should be doing differently as a
result.
Either that or she is talking as she should be and I just
can't understand her due to the lack of teeth in her mouth. It could be that
one, right? #DaddyWrite
P.S. - Any words of wisdom in training your child to speak (preferably
English) would be much appreciated.
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