Dumb Charades…..well, almost
The baby is into dumb charades. The rules are as follows:
- Baby will use ‘mmmm’ s and hand gestures to communicate
- Mom or dad or big brother will have to interpret
- If interpretation is right, baby will ‘mmmm’ happily
- If interpretation is wrong, baby will turn out his little red lower lip in a most pathetic heart rending gesture and wail.
So in the morning at the breakfast table.
Baby:’mmmmm’ (pointing in the direction of the kitchen)
Me: Do you want milk?
Baby : ‘mmmmmm’ (in a disappointed tone)
Me: Do you want Cheerios?
Baby : ‘mmmmmm’ in satisfaction
Baby (Selecting a cheerio delicately between thumb and forefinger ): ‘ mm’
Me ‘What?’
Baby (lifting cheerio towards me) : ‘mmm’
Me: No cheerio for baby, not for mommy
Baby (pouting) MMMMMMMM
Me: No cheerios for baby. Mommy has cereal
Baby : (pout broadening to expose 6 teeth) : MMMMMM
Me: OK, Mommy will have cheerios
I seriously think I am dissuading his language learning. He is so comfortable in his mmmm language that he seldom ventures into words, which I know he can say quite a few of.
So do I not ‘understand’ him any more?
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My bro in law, who is almost 40+ still uses different tones of hmm & hmmm’s to signal his likes and dislikes. So for instance if its would you like tea now …and he gives a short hmm…it signifies yes and a longer hmmmm would mean later. Its amazing how spouses understand each other. So its not just among kids.
lol. That is a good one.
My younger sister mmmmmed away until 3 years of age (while I did all the talking since I was 8 months old) – go figure. My parents thought she had speech problems. My theory is that the younger ones are smarter – why waste energy talking when 2 parents and one older sibling can be kept on their toes guessing?
Dear Khushi,
Nice post, sorry to have missed it earlier. A friend had said to me when my son was just beginning to talk and walk (it almost happened simultaneously just few days before his first birthday) that parents spent the first two years teaching a child how to talk and walk and then the next 15 years telling them to to stay quite and sit at one place. Enjoy this time of hmm and hmmmms. Its never gonna come back again. Lots of love to the Baby