On Language

When your child speaks their first word, you are overjoyed. Hearing her say Mama is music to your ears. You can't wait to hear what they will say next.

But then after the age of two, your child won't shut up. Then its not so cute. She will repeat everything and I mean everything you say (hence the spelling from my earlier post) so you have to be careful.

When we first adopted Bunny we assumed she would be a late talker because she had heard nothing but Cantonese for the first nine months of her life. But she started talking right on schedule so no problem. And then she kept right on talking and talking and talking.

Bunny is definitely a very verbal child. She loves words and the sounds they make. She will make up words because they sound funny. She also loves to say what the big people are saying even if the words are difficult. She now knows she lives in Waukee Milsconsin. When I tried on a new pair of sunglasses and pronounced them rockstar sunglasses, she put hers on and repeated rockstar sunglasses for a good 15 minutes.

The problem with a child like this is there are times (especially while driving) that you really need to swear. Now you don't want your child thinking its acceptable to drop the F-bomb even if you were cut off by the lady driving the blue minivan.

So what do you do? You make up words just like your child does. Bubs has taken to saying "Son of a Bee Sting" and phrases like that. It works for him but not for me. So my new word of choice in those situations is Focaccia. Say it out loud "Focaccia!" You can put the emphasis on it just like you would with the F-bomb and its just as satisfying. If your child picks it up, it is an innocent word. However, they may be confused if someone actually offers them focaccia bread when they've only heard it muttered under your breath or yelled at a passing motorist. So use it with care.