Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Daddy Doesn't Talk Like That
I remember thinking as a kid, "Grandma talks weird." Every time my grandma would refer to herself in conversation, she'd do it in third person. As in, "Grandma's going to take you kids to McDonald's," or "Come over here to Grandma," or "Grandma loves you." At least by the time I was old enough to understand the pronouns I and me, I wondered why Grandma never used them.
Turns out talking about one's self in the third person is a normal thing for people to do when addressing children. I don't know why. Grandma was probably not the only person who talked that way to me, but she was perhaps the most noticeable, because it seemed that first-person pronouns were simply not part of her vocabulary.
So now that I spend a lot more time than I used to talking to children (OK, one child in particular), I find myself struggling with slipping into third person when talking about myself. I catch myself saying things like "Ellie, give Daddy a kiss," or "Daddy's going to change your diaper now." When I do use first-person pronouns, sometimes that sounds weird because that's not how one is supposed to talk to a baby. Shelly doesn't use the first person very often when she talks to Ellie. Other parents don't do it to their kids.
But how is Ellie going to learn that I is a word unless someone uses it in her presence? We don't want the kid growing up talking like Elmo!
I guess this is just one of the challenges of parenthood.
Turns out talking about one's self in the third person is a normal thing for people to do when addressing children. I don't know why. Grandma was probably not the only person who talked that way to me, but she was perhaps the most noticeable, because it seemed that first-person pronouns were simply not part of her vocabulary.
So now that I spend a lot more time than I used to talking to children (OK, one child in particular), I find myself struggling with slipping into third person when talking about myself. I catch myself saying things like "Ellie, give Daddy a kiss," or "Daddy's going to change your diaper now." When I do use first-person pronouns, sometimes that sounds weird because that's not how one is supposed to talk to a baby. Shelly doesn't use the first person very often when she talks to Ellie. Other parents don't do it to their kids.
But how is Ellie going to learn that I is a word unless someone uses it in her presence? We don't want the kid growing up talking like Elmo!
I guess this is just one of the challenges of parenthood.
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