Monday, 28 November 2011

• The Joy of Words

  

  As children grow and develop there are different milestones that parents look forward to. Some parents can't wait for their children to become mobile (I am not one of those parents). Others dream of the day that their little one outgrows Colic. I think it's safe to say that within days of their child's birth most, if not all, parents, look forward to the day that their baby can sleep through the night. One big milestone that I have been looking forward to is Nick talking.

  On the day that Nick turned two months he started babbling. In no time he became quite a chatter box. We spent a tone of time sitting together "talking." With such promising signs I started to have secret hopes that Nick would speak early like I did. Still I knew that these early signs didn't necessarily mean that Nick would start early.

  Due to my language arts major I took multiple classes that focused on how children learn to speak. I learned that most kids say their first word around their first birthday. Of course some speak earlier and some speak later. Still others will never speak individual words. Instead they will go for a long time without saying anything (often causing their parents much stress) and then one day they'll spit out an entire sentence. Even knowing what I know I've still been waiting with baited breath for that first word.

  Recently I subbed in a young special education classroom. Most of the students in the class had little to no vocabulary. As I worked with the kids I couldn't hep but think about how hard it must be on parents when their children can't talk. There I was waiting relatively patiently for Nick to talk, knowing that it could easily still be another six months, while the parents of the students I was working with had been waiting years for a word to come out of their child's mouth. I have so much respect for parents that have children with special needs. I can't even imagine what they go through, but I digress.

  There I was last Sunday, still waiting patiently, not knowing that on that day I would hear Nick talk for the first time. That afternoon Nick had just awoken from his nap, and the weather was so nice, so I decided we should go for a walk. I took Nick downstairs, and was looking for a place to put him down so I could put my shoes on, when he spotted Oliver. Nick loves our cat Oliver, and the feeling is mutual.

  I sat down on the floor with Nick and we spent some time petting Oliver. After a bit Oliver left to lay in the sun. I decided to put Nick on his stomach facing Oliver while I put on my shoes. Nick has shown no drive to move, but he loves that cat so much that his desire to get to him might be the only thing to get Nick to crawl. Being a typical child though Nick did not do what his parent wanted. Instead he did things his own way and called the cat to him! There I was getting ready to put on my shoes when I hear, "hitty, hitty" (that "k" sound is hard). I couldn't believe my ears, but I figured it must have been a fluke. Then Oliver got up and walked by and Nick looked at him and said, "hitty," again! I was starting to get very excited, so I ran over and scooped Nick up so I could tell him how proud I was of him. I hadn't had a chance to say anything when Nick looked down at Oliver and said, "hitty," one more time. I was beside myself with joy. After hearing Nick say kitty three times, with them all obviously directed at the cat, I felt it was safe to believe that Nick had truly just spoken his first word.

  Almost right away Nick added the word hi to his vocabulary. Nick had been close to saying it for awhile, and he had been babbeling it. I had put Nick on his stomach facing the cat again and he looked at Oliver and said, "hi," (I think I need to put him in that position more often). Later that night Nick was watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Mickey said, "Here's Donald," When Donald came on the screen Nick looked at him and said, "hi."

  I can't wait to hear what other words Nick says in the coming days. I also can't wait for Nick to talk to me. I keep saying, "hi," hoping he'll say it back, but he just thinks it's a fun game and laughs hysterically. Oe well, I guess I'll just have to keep on being patient.

  URL: http://www.rockabyeparents.com
  
  What was your child's first word(s)?

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