Lynn's Comments: We wait so long to hear our children speak in clear, concise sentences. We correct their grammar, teach them the meanings of new words and how to incorporate them into their vocabulary. We rejoice in their learning - and then... we want them to shut up!!!
By the time he was five, Aaron was reading well and speaking like an adult. I loved the baby talk, but my goal was to see him go as far as he could with the language and to enjoy its use. Katie too loved to learn and the hope was that with good communication, we would all be able to understand each other better. With the advent of language came the flood.
Every movie was dissected and rehashed, every accomplishment, every thought, dream or accusation was gone over again and again. In short, there was non-stop talking. The trick was to pick up enough of the garble to prove you'd been listening and also to filter through the flow for the important stuff like: "the upstairs toilet is overflowing 'cause there's a sock in it." Interesting, isn't it, that when kids become teenagers and the need for real communication arises ...they don't want to say a thing!
