Because my son’s name is Jake, I call his toddler speech “Jakelish” because it is part English and part something I do not understand. We joke about “Jakelish” because we can’t make out what my son is saying. “Toddler talk” can sometimes be hard to distinguish.
The problem is that my son talks too fast sometimes. He doesn’t slow down to speak. He is talking, but he isn’t speaking clearly enough for us to understand him. I would consider it cause for concern except that I’ve never really been able to understand any toddler when he/she talks.
I have looked back and thought about it and I’ve decided that toddlers do have a language of their own. In the process of learning to talk, they seem to add and subtract from the words they hear adults using. It makes perfect sense to them, but to me, it is unclear.
I remember my friend’s toddler asking me a question. I told her I didn’t hear her and made her say it again. I still didn’t understand. Frustrated, the toddler asked a third time. At this point, her mom told me that she was asking if I wanted to see her hamster. It sounded more like “dya una my ammy” to me. Of course, I told her I would love to see her hamster, thankful that her mom had clued me in to what she was asking.
Desperate to understand my son, I have been paying close attention to his words and I’ve deciphered some of his toddler talk. Here is what I’ve come up with:
A “lop” is actually a Popsicle.
“Pungebob-bob” is Spongebob.
“Gandiddy” is Granddaddy.
“Hah you” is how are you.
I’m getting better at understanding this language that my son has created. There are a lot more phrases that I am struggling to decipher. The one thing I’m sure of is this: “Uh oh” is cause for concern.
I hear my son say “uh oh” and I jump to my feet and head in his direction. Sometimes, when my son says “uh oh,” it means that he has spilled his drink. Sometimes it means that something is in the trash can that shouldn’t be. Other times it means that the cat is trapped inside of laundry basket that my son has turned over on him. Regardless of which “uh oh” it is, there is trouble.
I would like to believe I’m not the only mother that can’t always understand “toddler talk.” Please tell me if you have trouble understanding your toddler, so that I don’t feel so alone.
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