82
votes
Toddler made "incorrect" animal identification that is actually correct. Better to correct her or not?
At most ages your best bet is to agree that it is a kitty, as they are the same - but stress that it is a big kitty; the lion kind of kitty. It is a much more positive learning experience to be able ...
- 26.5k
58
votes
Accepted
Two year old son sometimes using female verb endings - grammar issue?
Important caveat: I don't speak a word of Russian, so I'm using Google Translate for my examples.
I own a cat. Naturally, we always refer to the cat by her name rather than as "cat", so my son has ...
- 777
55
votes
Accepted
Toddler made "incorrect" animal identification that is actually correct. Better to correct her or not?
Overextension is normal
Overextension and related phenomena (including the opposite, underextension) are very common, even expected phases in language acquisition.
Some children call all four-legged ...
- 1,549
31
votes
Accepted
Teaching the difference between "you" and "me"
Oh sweet memories! We had the same (very temporary) situation. As first time parents, we tried the “hand gestures accompanying the words” approach and yes, we also had the adorable me-you-confusion.
...
- 18.1k
29
votes
Accepted
Is it common that 2 to 3 year old children use articles and plurals incorrectly?
On the question of if it is common, I would personally say "yes". I currently have 5 children (ages 2 to 6) in my life that I have close contact with and they all do it when speaking English (not ...
- 2,063
28
votes
Two year old son sometimes using female verb endings - grammar issue?
I think it's too soon to relate your child's use of gendered language to his own gender. As you say he is two, there's a good chance that he doesn't yet have a full concept of his gender identity. It ...
- 7,594
26
votes
What is the correct age to discuss words with taboo definitions?
Keeping in mind that 2 of the 3 meanings of the word "impotent" are non-sexual, you could have likely explained it to a 3-year old.
Personally, I would've had no problems explaining the third meaning ...
- 8,355
20
votes
Accepted
8 month old not babbling, when to worry and what to worry about
This is a clip of the Denver II Developmental Milestones checklist:
If you draw a vertical line from the slash in dada/mama specific and the "c" in dada/mama non-specific, you'll have the 8 month ...
- 69k
17
votes
How can I deal with adopted son who promised to the god he believes in to never to speak until he sees mommy again, when mommy is dead?
Short answer: be assertive and gentle at the same time. Gently let him know that you love him and understand his pain. Assertively (and gently) let him know that he can enjoy life, that he can be ...
- 491
16
votes
Can I teach my 9-month-old child my native language if I only see her for a few minutes at a time?
This is one of those rare cases where there's been a scientific study on exactly this topic!
The short answer is yes, speaking Russian with your 9mo daughter --- even for just the short visits you ...
- 2,447
15
votes
What benefits does using "baby talk" provide, and how do you maximize those benefits?
While there have been studies comparing infant preferences between "baby talk" and "regular talk", finding that "baby talk" was preferred, I'd probably lean more towards the results presented in this ...
- 965
12
votes
Moving to US with a 5 year old child
We moved with three kids ages 1-4 from Germany (your name sounds German, so this may be relevant).
We were lucky enough to find a pre-school program that was for kids whose first language was ...
- 7,194
11
votes
What to do about a 19-month-old not talking?
Hi and welcome to Parenting SE! Many children do not start forming sentences until 18-24 months.LINK
If you have been to your doctor (and you should if you are concerned), then probably it is still ...
- 17.5k
11
votes
Accepted
How to make my 5-year-old speak in first person when she speaks in second person?
As of now, there's no indication of a larger problem. You haven't been correcting her so looks like she's just continuing it out of a habit.
Start responding to the questions in the correct manner, ...
- 1,442
11
votes
Accepted
How to explain -gasm to 10 year old
You might simply say the television persoality was comparing the food to having sex (unless your son had been incredibly sheltered, he's probably heard that much at school from older kids or his age ...
- 3,697
11
votes
Two year old son sometimes using female verb endings - grammar issue?
Of course it's a grammar issue. He's just learning to speak and hasn't yet fully made the connection between suffixes and gender. Just a few more months, maybe a year, more interaction with other kids ...
- 759
10
votes
Accepted
How to further an aptitude toward early literacy?
This may not be the most scholarly article devoted to the subject, but it has been borne out again and again in well-developed studies: reading to your child id one of the most beneficial activities ...
- 69k
10
votes
How to help our 7 year old "get to the point" of his stories. Or is this a developmental stage?
In my experience, it's something they learn how to do with practice, and with listening to others do the same thing. It's not really feasible for anyone here to say if your child is at, below, or ...
- 61.7k
10
votes
Teaching the difference between "you" and "me"
Do Nothing! (Except continue to speak correctly yourself.)
It will correct itself in time. It's the miracle of language acquisition.
Sweet memories of my own daughter's learning curve:
"Uh" ...
- 101
9
votes
Toddler made "incorrect" animal identification that is actually correct. Better to correct her or not?
Consider, for a moment, that what she is pointing to is not actually a lion, but a flat sheet of processed tree pulp painted with thousands of little dots in the image of a lion. Her decision to call ...
- 1,497
9
votes
Two year old son sometimes using female verb endings - grammar issue?
In Bulgarian, we have the same verb-tense-gender relation (the language is closely related to Russian).
My kids (2 boys and a girl, all of them) did similar mistakes at early age. They later learned ...
- 581
8
votes
Accepted
At what age can children learn a non native language through television/podcasts?
It appears that children don't learn language well from television because they need interaction and conversation. It's not so much that the "picture on a flat device [isn't] a person", but ...
- 22.6k
8
votes
How to help a 2-year-old settle in day care where a foreign language is spoken?
I wouldn't worry too much:
At 2 years old, children are basically professional, full time language learners. Your son will pick up any language as easily as he picked up Hungarian.
At that age, many ...
- 431
8
votes
20 month old doesn't follow commands
Your questions are somewhat concerning. While any one of them alone might not indicate anything other than maturity, the sum of the problems, especially the regression from his behavior at 12 months ...
- 69k
8
votes
Toddler made "incorrect" animal identification that is actually correct. Better to correct her or not?
You're over thinking this.
If the picture shows a dog are you going to debate if it is a greyhound, a dachshund, or a german sheperd?
Just say, "Yes! That is a kind of cat."
- 574
8
votes
Two year old son sometimes using female verb endings - grammar issue?
His mother uses female verb endings, so he repeats her phrases. I suppose if you talk to your son more often the issue will be resolved.
- 81
7
votes
How do my wife and I stop our son from learning to swear from us?
As well as the answers that talk about how to solve the ongoing problem, the way to solve the problem at the moment it occurs is: Ignore it.
I remember the morning my small toddler son came into the ...
- 197
7
votes
Monolingual parents encouraging language skills early
I'd recommend the foreign babysitter option. You'll want her to come on a regular basis, several hours a week at least, and you'll want her to speak to the child exclusively or almost exclusively in ...
- 2,643
7
votes
What is the correct age to discuss words with taboo definitions?
Always answer your child's questions*
It's rude to skirt around someone's question. Most children are smarter than the adults around them and should be treated with respect.
The correct age for a ...
- 1,121
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