This week I'll continue my thoughts on repetition with toddlers.
We all know that you have to tell toddlers things a million times before they "get" it. And that may be because it takes a million times for a certain lesson to kick in, or because they actively choose to ignore you 999,999 times before deciding to obey. Huh.
Deep down, I know that repetition is the name of the game at this stage in Syd's (and soon Lorelei's) development, which is why I try not to let it annoy/exhaust/get the best of me.
Every now and then Sydney dangles the proverbial carrot in front of me, reminding me that the repetition is paying off. Like I said last week, I often expect instant results, but must remember to be patient, because patience is what really pays off when we're dealing with
Here's one small example of how I know that Sydney is listening to what we say. A few months ago we started practicing with her how to answer questions from "strangers" (not strangers in a creepy way, just people other than us). Specifically, "What's your name?" (Sydney), "How old are you?" (2-years old), and "How are you doing?" (I'm well!).
At first she would give whichever answer she wanted to the question we asked, mixing them up differently each time. It exasperated me, because she would just act silly during these "social training" sessions (now that sounds creepy), and I wanted her to learn the lesson so we could move on to bigger and better things. She exasperated me so much I decided to drop the whole thing.
I'm not sure how much time passed (a few days? a couple of weeks?) before I decided to readdress the lesson, but this time she answered all three questions perfectly. Huh. So she was listening. And what I said did sink in (despite the fact that I "gave up" on her). That made me feel like kinda jerky, so I resolved not to be so hard on her.
These days she's the one asking the questions. She loves asking people (and asking me...over and over and over again, all day long), "What's your name?" And then she loves getting asked the same question so she can tell people her name (she gives her full name now...first, middle, and last). She also knows all of our full names (except she calls me Ashley Ann instead of Ashley Nicole). When she asks Chet his name, he always says, "Daddy." She says, "No, your name is Chester John!" It's pretty hilarious and fun. I shouldn't have been such a slave driver when we started this little lesson, because, obviously, everything turned out just fine.
By the way, when asked, "How are you doing?", her reply is, "I'm well!" Except, instead of "well" she says, "welf." Ha!
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| At the Children's Museum |
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| She likes to bring me flowers. |
1 comment:
cracking up at "Syd Monst"
Cori knows our names too and it is so weird to hear her little mouth say "Casey" she also calls James "James Radio" instead of "James Ray" so now Levi has become "Levi James Radio Cranford". She recently started calling herself "Cori Janelle" instead of "Cori McKenzie". I wish I would have named her Cori Janelle from the first place but oh well. My mom and James say its weird to legally change her name - I was all for it.
Remember, she is always listening even if she doesn't give you the response you want each time. Say a bad word and I guarantee she will say it with no problems.....even say it when you think she's not listening.....she is listening...always! Precious Syd Monst
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