It is very sobering to be humbled by a plastic $9.95 toy phone. Here you have been mesmerized by your child’s every new word, thinking him so clever, so quick, so unique. Then, you come across this language skills building phone, press the buttons and hear those words that have become so familiar to you. Ball, car, baby…. I guess they must all start with those. Then you notice the words on there that your baby is NOT saying and you think “oh my gosh, I need to start teaching him how to say duck. Why doesn’t he say duck yet?”
Baby’s Current Lexicon at 19 months old
Words he says all the time:
Baby: Used to refer to himself or his stuffed animals. Sometimes used to refer to his father or me, as in he points to one of us, says “baby” and laughs hysterically.
Mommy, Mamma, Mimi: Mother.
Ma: Either means mother or milk.
Dadda: Daddy.
da DA!: Meaning unknown. Perhaps indicates excitement or interest in something.
Car: Cars, gears, machines, anything with wheels, ceiling fans.
Ball: Ball.
Moo: The sound of cows, pigs and sheep.
Yellow: This is a new one. It’s the first color he’s learned to say and it’s interesting because he has always seemed to favor yellow. The placement of his tongue for the ELL sound is, admittedly, still a little unorthodox.
No: Hell no.
NooOoo: Oh my, but you simply mustn’t do that.
Hi: Greetings.
Hello: Greetings (used primarily when he’s on the phone)
Bye: Fare thee well.
Juice: Juice, soda, beer.
Uh Oh: I’ve dropped something; I’ve seen something on the floor that looks like someone might have dropped it there at some time; I’ve thrown my truck across the room (narrowly missing your head) and would like you to go pick it up for me.
Tractor: one of his first, now rarely used since the discovery of “car.”
Oww: (meow) Cat.
Shoes: Shoes.
Bath: Bath.
Tree: Tree.
American Sign Language words: milk, ball, bird, hungry, water.
Words he says infrequently: tickle, light, clock, down.
Words his father says he has heard him say: ABCs (not A – Z, but literally “a-bee-sees”), castle, grandma, zebra, bird, truck, yogurt, banana, balloon.
Baby’s Current Lexicon at 19 months old
Words he says all the time:
Baby: Used to refer to himself or his stuffed animals. Sometimes used to refer to his father or me, as in he points to one of us, says “baby” and laughs hysterically.
Mommy, Mamma, Mimi: Mother.
Ma: Either means mother or milk.
Dadda: Daddy.
da DA!: Meaning unknown. Perhaps indicates excitement or interest in something.
Car: Cars, gears, machines, anything with wheels, ceiling fans.
Ball: Ball.
Moo: The sound of cows, pigs and sheep.
Yellow: This is a new one. It’s the first color he’s learned to say and it’s interesting because he has always seemed to favor yellow. The placement of his tongue for the ELL sound is, admittedly, still a little unorthodox.
No: Hell no.
NooOoo: Oh my, but you simply mustn’t do that.
Hi: Greetings.
Hello: Greetings (used primarily when he’s on the phone)
Bye: Fare thee well.
Juice: Juice, soda, beer.
Uh Oh: I’ve dropped something; I’ve seen something on the floor that looks like someone might have dropped it there at some time; I’ve thrown my truck across the room (narrowly missing your head) and would like you to go pick it up for me.
Tractor: one of his first, now rarely used since the discovery of “car.”
Oww: (meow) Cat.
Shoes: Shoes.
Bath: Bath.
Tree: Tree.
American Sign Language words: milk, ball, bird, hungry, water.
Words he says infrequently: tickle, light, clock, down.
Words his father says he has heard him say: ABCs (not A – Z, but literally “a-bee-sees”), castle, grandma, zebra, bird, truck, yogurt, banana, balloon.
