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Nov
16
2007

Playing the Guessing Game

Having a two year old who is just finding her words is a lot more challenging than I ever imagined it would be. Most days we just find a way to communicate. I list things that she might want, and she points to what she actually wants. It works for us and it gets us through in a pinch.

Other days, it’s like playing a continuous game of charades. M will look at me, and in a very confident voice say ‘bright!’. And I, being an incredibly brilliant Mummy, will understand her completely and say, ‘Yes, Honey, very good! The light is very bright!’ Unfortunately, it usually isn’t that easy. M will then say ‘No! Bright, bright’ and start pointing at my bowl of oatmeal (or apple, or toast, or whatever I happen to be eating at the time). And then we’ll finally figure out that she was saying ‘Bite.’ OK, gotcha.

Some days involve even more interpretation. Some days M will say something that sounds sort of like this, ‘Brightfrmap’. Hmm, what the hell does that mean? Then the guessing game really begins. I will start offering suggestions of what she might be trying to convey to me and she in turn will get more and more frustrated that I’m stupid and can’t understand her perfectly pronounced Queens’ English! It goes a little something like this:

M: “Mummy, me brightfrmap hunchy.”

Mummy: “You think it’s too bright.”

M: “No. Me brightfrmap hunchy!”

Mummy: “You want a bite? Light? Bike? Go right? Happy? Hurt? Hungry?

M: “Um hm. Me brightfrmap hunchy.”

Mummy: “Oh, you want breakfast, you’re hungry!” (light bulb moment.)

M: “Yeeeesssss!!!” Squeals of delights and frenzied pointing at the box of Corn Pops. (Yes, she gets to eat Corn Pops sometimes. Because Mummy likes them, that’s why.)

And other days…we both just give up and walk away from each other never to learn what the mystery word was.

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Heather