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Forum -> Parenting our children -> Toddlers

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amother

Wed, Mar 18 2009, 1:05 pm

From what age to what age is it normal for a kid to have one word that he calls a bunch of different things:

Like apple being a tomato, an apple, an orange, a turnip, a pepper, a persimmon, etc. All round fruits/vegetables?

Or all 4 legged mamals being "kitty cat"?

And all birds "Quack quack"?

What age is typical to start doing that?

At what age should the kid be able to differentiate between the things?

And my actual specific question is:
When my kid calls the orange "Apple", do I say "Oh, you want an orange?" Or do I use my kid's word and call it "apple" to encourage the kid's verbalizing what they want?

mom23

Wed, Mar 18 2009, 1:22 pm

Well I'm a big believer in teaching children the correct way to call something. All my kids call their bottle a bottle, not botty , and a bath a bath not a boodie. And if they ask for an apple and point to a tomato, I say "Oh you want a tomato - let me cut it up for you."

There is a point in time when a babysitter or relative will be watching my child, and I won't be there to point out that an apple is really a tomato. And the more I point out what the right word for each thing is, the child will eventually catch on.

If your child is starting to verbalize things, there is no wrong way for your child to say things. It is your job to give them all the learning opportunities available to him or her in a positive fun way. The more you associate the correct word with the correct object the easier it will be for the child to make the connection. Don't pressure them to use the right word, just casually associate what is right.

louche

Wed, Mar 18 2009, 9:46 pm

Calling an apple an orange is actually a good sign of logical thought, b/c the kid is recognizing that object B has certain characteristics in common with object A. sometimes we, the adults, are perplexed if we can't immediately see the connection, but there always is one.

The smart thing to do is to tell him what the correct word is, not to perpetuate the error. If he still continues calling a horse a cat, he's not quite ready to grasp the difference. all kids go thru a stage in which every 4-legged animal is a cat (or horse), every male adult is Daddy, every wheeled conveyance is a truck. but you'd be surprised, when you start telling them this is a station wagon and that's a tow truck and the other is an ambulance, they pick up real fast.

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