4 year old suddenly speaks ML
Jul 19, 2019 9:41:11 GMT 9
Post by CHRISTOPHER L WILSON on Jul 19, 2019 9:41:11 GMT 9
Hi all,
Clearly I'm freaking out because I posted a couple days ago a vague 'update' and now I'm moving the topic to concerns and problems...lol, but seriously!
Essentially, all through 2 years old and 3 year old my daughter only spoke to me in ml...we were/are so proud and ecstatic that all our hard work had paid off. She was code switching beautifully too between my wife and I flawlessly. In April 2019 there was a big transition for us and we moved across the country. The only difference in this time was that my daughter was pulled from her ml speaking school which was 3 half days a week. 12 hours a week, not too much time! In the last two-three months I still only spoke ml to her and my wife spoke to her as normal in ML.
My daughter is speaking to me now A LOT in the ML and I have no idea why or how to respond. I think it is such an important juncture that I wanted to respond thoughtfully and came here for support first. In regards to input right now, that is again taken care of and her ml input will actually be MORE than it was previously. Our nanny speaks ml full time (started 2 weeks ago) and then in fall she will attend PreK in 80-20 (ml-ML ratio).
My concern is what do I do NOW. I'll outline the common approaches and my concerns or thoughts.
First - Pretending not to understand ML. I just don't think this is practical that much, you all know HOW much a 4 year old talks...it is just all the time. I can do it for direct requests sure, but not so much the conversational pieces. Plus I really don't want to shut down communication between us or have her feel "well if I have to work extra hard or keep repeating I'm just going to shut down communication."
Second - I thought I could just ask her directly, Eloise speak to me in "Spanish" or "how papi speaks." However, my concern with this is REBELLION. She is 1) at the age of doing the opposite of what we say to push buttons and learn boundaries and 2) her personality is especially strong willed. So I don't know if this is right because for her because my fear is she may dig in harder with ML.
Third - Conversation - Do I have an open conversation with her about why she is using "mommy's language" more. I think I know this isn't cognitively an option yet, however, it has crossed my mind!
Four - Do I just do nothing and keep going knowing that our inputs are GOOD and it'll work out. This sounds the hardest because she is using ML and it feels like I have to do something...but who knows.
Lastly, I just wanted to vent. I feel so defeated and frustrated and to be honest angry at times because I know she has the capability.
Thanks ALL.
Christopher
Clearly I'm freaking out because I posted a couple days ago a vague 'update' and now I'm moving the topic to concerns and problems...lol, but seriously!
Essentially, all through 2 years old and 3 year old my daughter only spoke to me in ml...we were/are so proud and ecstatic that all our hard work had paid off. She was code switching beautifully too between my wife and I flawlessly. In April 2019 there was a big transition for us and we moved across the country. The only difference in this time was that my daughter was pulled from her ml speaking school which was 3 half days a week. 12 hours a week, not too much time! In the last two-three months I still only spoke ml to her and my wife spoke to her as normal in ML.
My daughter is speaking to me now A LOT in the ML and I have no idea why or how to respond. I think it is such an important juncture that I wanted to respond thoughtfully and came here for support first. In regards to input right now, that is again taken care of and her ml input will actually be MORE than it was previously. Our nanny speaks ml full time (started 2 weeks ago) and then in fall she will attend PreK in 80-20 (ml-ML ratio).
My concern is what do I do NOW. I'll outline the common approaches and my concerns or thoughts.
First - Pretending not to understand ML. I just don't think this is practical that much, you all know HOW much a 4 year old talks...it is just all the time. I can do it for direct requests sure, but not so much the conversational pieces. Plus I really don't want to shut down communication between us or have her feel "well if I have to work extra hard or keep repeating I'm just going to shut down communication."
Second - I thought I could just ask her directly, Eloise speak to me in "Spanish" or "how papi speaks." However, my concern with this is REBELLION. She is 1) at the age of doing the opposite of what we say to push buttons and learn boundaries and 2) her personality is especially strong willed. So I don't know if this is right because for her because my fear is she may dig in harder with ML.
Third - Conversation - Do I have an open conversation with her about why she is using "mommy's language" more. I think I know this isn't cognitively an option yet, however, it has crossed my mind!
Four - Do I just do nothing and keep going knowing that our inputs are GOOD and it'll work out. This sounds the hardest because she is using ML and it feels like I have to do something...but who knows.
Lastly, I just wanted to vent. I feel so defeated and frustrated and to be honest angry at times because I know she has the capability.
Thanks ALL.
Christopher