09 Jul

Dad and Buried Posted in Future 8 comments

I Don’t Use Baby Talk

Years ago, before I had kids, I was walking across a park with a friend when a little boy of about 4 or 5 wandered by. I looked at him and said, “Hello, how are you?”

Confused by my formality, the kid scrunched his face and quickly scampered away. I felt like a narc.

My friend laughed at my bizarre attempt to engage the toddler, noting that I clearly had no idea how to talk to children. He was right. Now that I have a child of my own, I know a little better.

But my approach hasn’t necessarily changed. I don’t use baby talk. Read more about I Don’t Use Baby Talk …

08 Mar

Dad and Buried Posted in discipline One comment

Zombie Post: Welcome to the “Neighborhood”

Mom and Buried showed the kid an old “Mr. Rogers” episode the other day. To my surprise, he sat in rapt attention for the entirety of the the episode. He can’t get enough of it! He’s constantly asking to hear “the neighbor song.” We try not to let him watch too much TV, but heRead more about Zombie Post: Welcome to the “Neighborhood”[…]

18 Dec

Dad and Buried Posted in discipline One comment

The Boy Who Cried Gibberish

A few people have mentioned to Mom and Buried and me that Detective Munch has a good vocabulary for a kid his age. I don’t disagree, I mean, I’ve got him speaking jive, singing Christmas (and Beastie Boys) songs, and telling people “See ya later, alligator!” He can say some solid stuff.

Of course, he’s only two, so his vocabulary isn’t that good. Plus, a lot of the things he says are barely recognizable as English, and are probably only decipherable by me and Mom and Buried, if at all. And that so-called good vocabulary gets a lot worse when he’s distraught.

When he’s upset, whether it’s because he’s being a brat or because he got a boo-boo, words go out the window. Which can make solving – or even identifying – the problem quite tricky.

19 Oct

Dad and Buried Posted in discipline No comments

Teach Impediment

The reality of being a dad has a way of completely upending your pre-parent expectations.

A few months ago, I wrote about looking forward to the “Rose Is Rose” portion of toddlerhood, in which my son would babble adorably and I’d be forced to puzzle out what he was saying. Like a sophisticated, more intelligent version of The Da Vinci Code (with much less Jesus but a much better vocabulary).

Unfortunately, it’s not difficult to decipher my sons favorite words, most of which revolve around refusing to eat things, refusing to do things and refusing to stop doing things. It’s not really that adorable.

The funny pages lied to me.

The Decipherists: Mamoo

A babbling toddler speaks in a language only those closest to him can understand, and often even they are giving it their best guess.

The third entry in the Decipherists series tackles that very situation, in which our son uses one almost-a-word type sound to mean multiple things. Or maybe just one meaning. We really have no idea. It seems like it’s a pretty all-purpose word for the kid, seeing as he uses it for a variety of items.

It took some time, and the process of elimination, but we think we’ve been able to suss it out.

Dad and Buried

Tag: language

I Don’t Use Baby Talk

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Zombie Post: Welcome to the “Neighborhood”

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The Boy Who Cried Gibberish

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Teach Impediment

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The Decipherists: Mamoo

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