It’S A Language All Their Own
My year-and-a-half-old son’s vocabulary isn’t quite up to speed with his wants and needs so my husband and I frequently play the guessing game in trying to figure out just what he wants.
The other day, my son said to me, “Bid da bu mimi.” “What, Sweetie?” I asked, hoping the next time around I’d catch a familiar word such as ball, book or dog.
“Bid da babu da tidtu” he said, obviously frustrated that I just don’t understand that what he wants is to play the toddler software on the computer.
“Huh?” I said holding a book, picking up a ball, pointing to the dogs, hoping to figure out what he wanted.
The next thing I know he disappeared, and I heard him climbing the stairs.
He came back down and handed me the mouse pad.
* Speaking of computers: Market research done by VTECH, an electronics company, has found that more than half of kids start using a computer before age 7, and 59 percent feel that using a computer helps them get better grades. So the company has created a laptop computer designed specifically for kids. Called The Equalizer and retailing for $299 (Toys R Us and J.C. Penney catalog), it has a built-in word processor, spreadsheet, scientific calculator, address book, world clock, scheduler, map, games and tutors, as well as e-mail and fax capabilities. Hmmm, if Junior gets his own computer, I might actually be able to get on my computer when I want to.
* Tired of Chicken Soup?: The publishers of that “Chicken Soup” for everyone and everything series have another book scheduled for publication in the spring, called, “Lessons From Our Children.” The difference? You can add your two cents worth to this book. Anecdotes, essays, poems or just ramblings about things your children have taught you can be submitted for possible inclusion in the book. Submissions should be 200 to 1,500 words and mailed to Joan Aho Ryan, 3100 Riverside Drive, Coral Springs, FL 33065 or sent via fax to (954) 340-0627. The deadline for submissions is Oct. 31.
* Great! — another toy to smack: For me, it’s the talking Barney my parents bought my son. Push a button and he says something sweet to the kid. But he continues to talk — for 90 seconds! — even after you put him down and stop pushing buttons. So, anyway, if your kids don’t have enough of the talking, walking, giggling, laughing toys, watch out for this year’s predicted big seller: Furby (Tiger Electronics, around $30). This cuddly creature interacts with its environment and other Furbies. They communicate with one another and can learn each other’s tricks. They have their own language but can learn English. Am I the only one thinking “Gremlins” here?