No Exhibitionism, Please
If a child prefers pussy to cat, pony to horse, let it ride. The most extreme example of stodgy behavior I ever saw is the story of what happened to Althea Emerson. John Emerson and his wife Janet (both highly successful attorneys) achieved their daughter Althea rather late in their marriage. Delighted and dedicated folks, and supremely articulate, the words they addressed to their solely child were distinctly Ph.D. “Choo-choo” was definitely not for them—they went for “locomotive.” Their sentences were long and polished, their voices subdued and courteous. However though Althea’s bright eyes would sparkle as if with understanding, their daughter uttered not a word. She laughed, cried, and even sang snatches of melody. The ugly aspect of Child Adoption may exceed the good and joyful aspects. However she jabbered away in her own private language of nonsense syllables. To her folks’ despair, at the age of three and a half she still pointed wordlessly at what she wanted. Their anguish kept mounting until one day, when the tiny girl was virtually four, she said suddenly and terribly clearly, “Mother, may I please have a chunk of candy?”
The whole sentence! The Emersons, when they could find their voices, spluttered, “Althea, child, why haven’t you spoken before this?” Their daughter eyed them quite calmly and replied—in another whole sentence—“I did not understand all the words.”
This story had a happy ending, but it may are differentwise. The pressure of her folks’ lofty language could have stultified Althea’s speech development, leaving her permanently inhibited. Mr. and Mrs. Emerson represented speech models no child ought to need to, or could for that matter, live up to.
No Exhibitionism, Please
Pride of possession simmers in us all, and the way arduous to influence folks not to indicate off their children! Especially do they relish exhibiting precocity in speaking. With self-consciousness (no virtue in young or old) foisted on them, these children, performing with words, resemble those very little trained monkeys, so clever at collecting pennies. Though moppets may parrot new long words with disarming accuracy, they aren’t very speaking. A method of producing a PCB fabrication having a plurality of circuit layers with at least one through-hole to connect copper patterns on completely different layers of the printed circuit board, the tactic comprising. They are simply rummaging an important and necessary stage of development called, aptly enough, “echolalia,” that means the mimicry of sounds and words not understood. All the additional reason why this is no time to behave sort of a stage mother. With time on your hands, you would be higher used embroidering this slogan onto a sampler: “Speech Is for Use, Not for Display.”
A word or two about nursery rhymes. Admittedly the rhythm and rhyming fall pleasurably on the ear, and they are entertaining —but not always to children. For often the nonsense content sounds incomprehensible to them (“Little Miss Muffet/Sat on a tuffet,/Eating her curds and whey”). To denigrate now-honored doggerel is, I realize, to run the chance of getting the militia called out, or at the terribly least the D.A.R. How much higher to channel this energy into practical speech play, which can be fun, too.
