When Will A GrandGirl Say My Name?

When it comes to children and language, it’s such a pronounced waiting game. It requires considerable patience on the part of parents – and grandparents, for that matter. If children were just hatched with some vocabulary, we could know exactly what they are thinking! We could have a window into their little minds and learn how they are processing the big world.

As a grandparent, I can’t recall how long this process took when my kids were little, so I needed to consult with the internet.

According to AI, most children say their first words between 12 and 18 months, with many starting around age 1. By 2 years old, many children start combining words into simple phrases and have a vocabulary of about 50 words. Around 18-24 months, vocabulary grows rapidly, and many children start putting 2 words together to form simple phrases, like "my toy."

After 2 years, a "language explosion" occurs, with many children forming more complex sentences and having a much larger vocabulary.

Typically, it all begins with names and the starting blocks are mama and dada, as they should be. Then there’s the rest of us – all of the relatives who show up with frequency and loaded with affection. It is nice to be known by name so…

My daughter-in-law introduced an approach that’s quite entertaining, surprising and original. I never thought of doing this myself but I’m very happy she did…

She made flash cards with pictures of all the relatives and close friends, and she uses them to teach our names. Fantastic! What a great idea! I was really touched by the thought and effort.

How did this strategy strike her? She’s an early childhood educator and it’s a regular technique used in her classroom. This application of it, however, was her own idea and it’s working.

I really admire her resourcefulness and interest in focusing on this one area. As a mom raising 2 little girls, her hands are full, but she really enjoys creative outlets and she always finds them. For example, a recent gift was a square canvas with the girls’ handprints on it in many colors. It was a messy project, I’m sure, however, that never appears to be a deterrent.

For many of us, when we become bored, we turn to our phones. When my daughter-in-law needs to feel the spark of some new content, she might just create it with her daughters! And when a project becomes personal and it’s about learning our names, it makes me feel included and present, even though as a grandparent, I’m much more peripheral and peripatetic.

I never thought I’d be a flashcard, but it feels very rewarding to have landed on one!