Out of the Mouths of Babes: Words of Love

Mispronouncing words and phrases is common among young children.

My younger kids, ages 2 and 3, often mix up their parts of speech or pronounce their R’s as W’s.

They may sound slightly like Elmer Fudd, but I find it adorable.

Recently, I began to notice the way my little ones phrased things and contemplated the meaning behind them.

For example, instead of saying, “Don’t leave,” when I am heading out the door, my son will say, “Don’t be gone.”

That hit me hard. Parents sometimes think the hardest part is getting out the door, whether it’s at preschool drop-off or the end of the bedtime routine.

But to our kids, the hardest part is our absence that lasts for hours.

His words reminded me that I need to instill in him that even though I’m not always by his side, I will always come back.

My youngest is just starting to put together short sentences. She’ll suddenly appear at my feet, reach out her chubby arms and say, “I wanna hold you.”

Even though I am the one lifting her up and bearing her weight in my arms, she says that she is holding me.

It’s not a request to be held. It’s an offer from her.

My oldest is now 8, but I still remember when she was a toddler and I had plenty of cute nicknames for her.

I would often call her “baby doll.” One day she delighted me by giving me the pet name “Mommy doll.”

That silly nickname meant the world to me. She recognized pet names as endearments and graced me with one of my own.

Kids say the darndest things, alright, but don’t be so quick to write them off as silly mistakes.

Take a minute to really think about those nonsense words or phrases. You may find more meaning than you expected.