Mama Byrd

Do other toddlers have their own language? Some combination of English and whatever makes sense to them (and no one else)?

Each of my three children has developed some form of this, but none as complicated as Phillip. He’s developed his own code of speech that I like to call “Phillipese” (not to be confused with Philippines, which is a real country). Caleb told me that next time he stays with Papa and Grandma (or anyone else), I will need to make a translation sheet so they know what he is talking about. Here is a rough start:

“I want apple juice grape juice.” This could mean he wants apple juice or white grape juice. Since he can’t really tell the difference in taste, and the difference in color is nominal, I usually just give him whatever we have. Don’t ask, don’t tell.

“Do it little bit big.” This refers to how much liquid he wants in his cup. It just means fill it up as far as it will go without spilling over. At one time, he would demand that we fill it to the top then pour some of it out into the sink (I think this is a sign of OCD), until Lannie convinced him that there were poor children in the world that didn’t have any juice to drink so he couldn’t waste it by pouring it down the drain. I think that is a circular argument, because you don’t do the starving children any favors by drinking more of it yourself. Fortunately, Phillip doesn’t have a very high level of logical thinking skills, so that argument worked for him.

“Mommy, you prayed the wrong way. Pray the front in the back and the back in the front.” I have no idea what this means. He says it every time I pray with him. When I figure it out, I’ll let you know.

Filed under: Phillip, Uncategorized, funny kids on November 7th, 2008