Who knew time would pass by so quickly when you have a child? I still remember how excited we were when my little one started holding his head up. Later, he rolled onto his front from his back.
Pretty soon, he was pulling up to sitting. Then, actually sitting. And before we knew it, he was pulling himself to standing. Cruising came next. Crawling, walking.
And of course, talking. A milestone, that will take years to develop. One, that will challenge and excite all new parents. I’m excited about this particular step, as it means he’s actually communicating with us in a two-way dialog, as opposed to, well, just me talking to him.
We are a pretty unique family, I think. I’m Malaysian-Chinese, my husband is Australian-Libyan and our son is Libyan-Chinese, born in Australia, and right now, we live in Malaysia.
In this day and age, merging of cultures and races appears to be the norm, rather than the exception. This of course, makes for exciting times. Our son will grow up in a multicultural, multilingual environment, which I hope, will result in a well-rounded individual.
At home, we speak English. My Cantonese is a little lost here, as there’s no one to converse with, other than the occasional phone call with my mother. My son, now 16 months old, spends half his time at my in-laws place, and he adores his grandparents. They have been talking to him as if he understood them since he was a baby.
I believe this is why my toddler speaks Arabic. Last week, for the first time, I heard him say jid-doh (جد ), which means ‘grandfather’ in Arabic. Clear as day. He hasn’t even said ‘Mama’ yet!
He also understands the following words in Arabic: maa’, which means ‘water’ (مياه ); ma’boub which means ‘beloved’ (محبوب ), ta’ala which means ‘come’ (تعالى) and of course, la, which is ‘NO’ (لا).
He babbles non-stop, talking to himself, to me, to his father, to his grandfather and more often than not, grabs someone’s mobile phone and has entire pretend conversations, which makes for very interesting video fodder!
Some of the things that we do to encourage him to talk more are to, well, talk to him (and not at him!). I’m a stay-at-home mother, so he spends most of his waking hours with me. I talk to him when he wakes up in the morning, saying good morning, and engaging him while I dress him, asking him whether he would like to wear this tee-shirt or that shirt.
When I feed him breakfast, I talk to him. Open your mouth, come here, don’t spit it out and so on. When he’s playing, we have ‘conversations’ about what he’s doing, whether he’s playing with his toy truck or his shape sorter.
We also try to talk to him like we would a child who already understands every word we say, and we always pronounce words the way they should be, instead of the way he does.
When he first started saying hello, it sounded like ‘gu’. Eventually, he would say ‘ha-woh’. Now, he says ‘lo’, which in my ears, sound as close to hello as is possible at his age. Progress!
This all means that we have to watch what we say. He is in copycat mode these days. A few days ago, he tried to put on my glasses. He’s been trying to slip on his grandfather’s shoes for weeks. Sometimes, he grabs my fork and tries his hand at eating pasta, the way he has seen us do it.
He is also obsessed with closing and opening doors and drawers, taking things out, and putting them back. He’s discovered the thrill of a slide, the joy of splashing in a pool, the fun of drawing with crayons.
Before we know it, he’ll be reading, writing, riding a bike, running across a playground, playing on swings, participating in a game of football, or basketball. He’ll be going out to his friends’ houses to play, or to study.
He’ll be going to kindergarten, primary school, high school, college, maybe even pursue a PhD, following in the footsteps of his aunt, my sister.
We hold our hopes and dreams in our children. As they become less and less a baby, and more and more a boy or girl, we watch those hopes and dreams become a reality, day by day. However, before I get too carried away with his future, I will focus on the present. Just as I am, drinking in his new-found ability to talk.
Enjoy the here and now, as time passes too quickly when you have children.
Do you have any favorite milestones that your child has reached?
This has been an original post to World Moms Blog by Alison Lee in Kuala-Lumpur, Malaysia. She can also be found blogging at Mama Wants This!
Photo credits to the author.
That is good that your son is learning different languages at such a young age. It is a wonderful skill. They do grow very quickly and the first couple years the milestones pass by so fast.
Yes they do pass by quickly. Too quickly! Thanks for visiting Jessica.
That is good that your son is learning different languages at such a young age. It is a wonderful skill. They do grow very quickly and the first couple years the milestones pass by so fast.
Yes they do pass by quickly. Too quickly! Thanks for visiting Jessica.
The blend of cultures is amazing! How lucky you are!!!
Alison – you’re right in saying that we hold our hopes and our dreams in our children, which is what makes being a mother one of the most challenging and exciting things in the world. Enjoy your little man while he is young because it’s true they do grow up way too quick.
Welcome to WMB
Cheers, Fiona
Thanks for the welcome Fiona!
Alison – you’re right in saying that we hold our hopes and our dreams in our children, which is what makes being a mother one of the most challenging and exciting things in the world. Enjoy your little man while he is young because it’s true they do grow up way too quick.
Welcome to WMB
Cheers, Fiona
Reading, a huge milestone! For some reason to see him read reminds me that some day he will be an independent grown young man.
Oh, how excited that he is going to be so multi-cultural. Good for you. He is going to be so far ahead of many kids. Nice post.
Oh, how excited that he is going to be so multi-cultural. Good for you. He is going to be so far ahead of many kids. Nice post.
Alison,
Welcome to World Moms Blog! We’re so excited to have a writer from Malaysia!
I agree, it is great that your child has such a blend of cultures to learn about. I’m looking forward to hearing more about it in the future!
My favorite milestone so far that my 3 year old daughter has reached has definitely been language. Once we could talk to each other there is no stopping us! 🙂
Veronica Samuels 🙂
This is a great post. I love watching them talk–it’s been my favorite milestone. And how wonderful that you little one has such diverse languages to draw on. And he’s super cute, of course!
I would love to teach my son different languages. I guess my favorite milestones have been smiling and talking. My older son was a late talker, so it was such a joy when he started. Definitely worth the wait!
I would love to teach my son different languages. I guess my favorite milestones have been smiling and talking. My older son was a late talker, so it was such a joy when he started. Definitely worth the wait!
Welcome Alison! I enjoyed your post and look forward to reading more of your stories. As with the others comments, speaking was such a fun milestone. Not only did it help with so much of the day to day goings on in our home, it really brings out the personality of our little ones.
Alison, I loved reading your post. We are a pretty multi-lingual family too. And talking is such a fun milestone. My son is five and I wonder how he can speak two languages so fluently and can understand two others and speak them little.
You just wait. Before you know it, your little one would try to translate things for you 😉
Wow, what a lucky boy! I am so pleased you are trying to keep him multi-lingual. It’s so much easier to learn when you are young. And welcome. 🙂
Wow, what a lucky boy! I am so pleased you are trying to keep him multi-lingual. It’s so much easier to learn when you are young. And welcome. 🙂
My daughter is almost 2 and is quite the yapper — though she’s somewhat shy around new people. We try to talk to her in Urdu and she goes to daycare where she speaks/hears English. What is amazing to is her ability to “know” who speaks which language. And it’s fun for me to hear her overpronounce words like Milk and Mommy to English-speakers. She’s now putting 4-words together and it’s pretty cool. 🙂