Before children, I (think) I spoke like an intelligent human being. Then, I was pregnant. During this time, I found my words getting so jumbled that I had convinced myself I had suffered a stroke or something equally traumatic. My doctor convinced me I’d be back to normal as soon as I got some sleep…3 years and 20 months later, I am still waiting for that sleep to come.
In the meantime, it seems as if our family has developed our own language that only we understand. Has your family done this? Do you remember when these unique words developed? Do you use them years after your child has moved to the more traditional terminology/pronunciation?
I thought I would share with you a few of our family gems and their definitions.
naughty lemon – a lemon timer that we use for time outs.
lookin’ book – a book that is not meant to be read cover to cover or one that can be read through visual inferencing by the boys themselves.
ex: This 144 page book of Disney Pixar Cars Characters
macky cheese – mac and cheese
dippa/dip dip – condiments. My first son would say “dip dip” while my second son would yell “Dippa! Dippa!” in a way that reminded us of Speedy Gonzales in the old cartoons.
special dippa – whipped cream. One day recently my older son said to me, “Bapa [one of his grandfathers] calls special dippa, “whipped cream.” Isn’t that silly?”
ov-ill – Olive, our dog. We still call her ov-ill three years later.
jeu – juice
pack-pack – As in, “Get your pack-pack (backpack) and get in the car. We are late for school.”
die-po – diaper
die-po divin’ – Used in the context of, “Mah! He’s die-po divin’!” (You get the picture).
chee – When a camera is pointed at you, say “chee!” (cheese).
Doc Ick Stuffins – Doc McStuffins, the toddler toy doctor extraordinaire found on Disney Jr.
fesser – professor (Mommy and Daddy’s real job. What Buddy wants to be when he grows up.)
ham and sam – the Cat in the Hat
white broccoli – cauilflower
popcorn – Pirate’s Booty
jack – jacket
flippers – flip-flops
prizey – a small gift item or special snack
summer shoes – Keens
soccer shoes – sneakers
toodie-toodie – nude
Does your family use any of these words or have any special words of their own? I’d love to hear about them!
Absolutely! Hannah is teaching me a wealth of words. She says ‘jack’ just like your little guys. I love all the clothing lingo. But my favorite is the nickname for her sister Audrey: Ra Ra.
Love it when kids (or me) randomly use it in public and get strange looks. We don’t have as many as the kids get bigger but pack pack is still in use. My oldest use to call french fries – “signs”. Guess we went to McDonalds too much and he saw the picture on a sign. Took us 2 months to figure out THAT “language”.
Ra Ra! How cute! Like a cheerleader for her sis.
Signs. That’s a fun one!
I always thought I would talk directly to my kid. Yup; I’ve got my own language too! She is twelve so I try to tone it down but I still demand huggabugs.
My favorite was Amelia’s choice: appysappy was applesauce, so I used to sing “appysappy makes me happy!” Ah, the good ‘ol baby days 🙂 You have some really good ones!
I absolutely love the language. You should create a dictionary. It will prove to be a great memory for the kids.
“Kid Speak” is the best! We still utilize some of them that Princess Nagger used to do – like ‘baby snoot’ for bathing suit. Little Dude constantly calls his backpack a ‘pack back’, and napkin is ‘mackin’. 🙂
Too cute! My husband and I always say that it will be sad day when the kids stop using their made up words for things.
Our bathing suit is a “baby suit!” Haha!
Great idea…I try to stick it in their baby books when I remember…
What a funny post! Great idea! Toodie definitely means something else in our house!
We only ever used nicknames for the kids and dogs. My son was not under my care during the day, when he was little (daycare kid) so I always used the full words so he could express to me properly if something was amiss.
That makes sense, Sherry, and is an important safety reminder for all of us who have kids in the care of others.
Lol, I can imagine!
These are so cute!
Lack of sleep is making me draw a blank about some of ours… even though I know we have them. Not that it’s all that weird, but we say “butty-butt” thanks to my youngest. I think I will be sad when my boys get too old for that and roll their eyes at the term!
butty-butt – I love that!