Language

is a powerful tool.

I have made a point, ever since my mini ones were tiny, of talking to them as people, not as babies.

So from the outset my children knew sentence construction as they heard it regularly, they knew the correct terms and names for various different things, and when they did start to speak, they spoke, predominantly, very well.

And there is another element to language that I think we, as parents, take for granted. And that is the fact that by utilizing language, and by teaching our children, we can actually give ourselves, as parents, a great deal of entertainment in the process.

I shall give you an example. Yesterday I taught master 2 how to say defenestrate. For those who are unfamiliar with this word it means 'to throw through or out the window'. Random? Yes, quite possibly. But it is seriously adorable to hear a 2 year old say "defenestrate" correctly. And then be able to use it in context. True, it is probably not ideal for a 2 year old to say to his 4 year old sister that he will defenestrate her, but my word it is entertaining for the parent to hear......

And those phrases that we use, innocently, perhaps a little too often, those little ears they hear... they hear it all.....

We drive together quite often, just me and the three, and it is 'interesting' when someone walks across the road in front of the car..... as I hear "Just walk in front of the car, thanks love" softly said from the back row of the car.... Ah yes, passive aggression being passed down from generation to generation...

Hearing your 4 year old say to your 5 year old "It's not rocket science you know" makes you think that perhaps you should just tone down those little 'sayings' a tad.....

I adore my babies. I love how 'absorbent' they are of the world. I love that they each have such hugely strong personalities. And I love how they use the language skills that I am passing down to them (some of them slightly dodgier than others, although I am vehemently against cussing in front of children, and will chastise friends who do so!), and to be honest I truly can't wait to see what happens next... and hear what they say next....

In the meantime though, I'll be content in the knowledge that when I ask my 3 year old why she slept in my bed instead of hers and her reply is "because I wanted to give you cuddles" and when my 2 year old crawls into bed with me, puts his arm around me and says "I love you so much mummy", and when I cut myself, or stub my toe, and fall down in a small heap and my 5 year old comes up to me and says "It's ok baby, I'll look after you" and I just melt that little bit more.....well, I know my babies are doing just fine. And I love their non-kiddy talk.

That whole my bed their bed thing, yes, well, story for another time.....