Toddler Tuesday: Like Shakespeare
I remember in school, English teachers loved to tout the fact that Shakespeare made up words when he couldn’t find one to suit his needs. Some used it to argue for Shakespeare’s genius. Others seemed to want to make students feel better when creating a word of their own. I often remind myself of this when listening to my toddler speak.
As my pediatrician explained, my toddler has advanced speaking abilities, stringing together paragraphs at a time like a kid twice her age. Only, she still has the maturity of a two-year-old. So listening to her speak is often, um, entertaining. Yes, we’ll call it that.
Today, for your entertainment, I present a Toddler Tuesday post. The first several will be dedicated to her language use and the resulting hilarity. Today’s post is all about vocabulary. When the toddler hears a new word, she often associates it with something familiar. The results are amusing.
Momitor. Derived from the English “monitor,” this device is “the thing mommy uses to listen to me when I am supposed to be napping.”
The ele-gator. A cousin of the alligator, the ele-gator opens its mouth at the push of a button to devour small children and their parents, delivering them from one floor to another.
Bu-meat-o. A breakfast bu-meat-o is a thing toddlers like to eat containing breakfast and meat. Duh.
Too fit. You might think this is literal, as in “mommy is too fit, brother, from chasing us around the house” (I wish). But you’d be wrong. The phrase “too fit” is used when something doesn’t quite fit correctly. Sleeves too long? They are too fit. Pants a bit snug? They, too, are “too fit.” Talk about language efficiency: this phrase allows a tantruming toddler to complain about any number of issues regarding her clothing without being bothered by pesky and practical details.
Fluffly. We’ll end this post on a cute note. This word is a portmanteau of the words “fluffy” and “lovely.” A fluffly toy is a cuddly toy, such as a bear, that also happens to be lovely. So, a bright rainbow plush bear is fluffly, as is a cuddly puppy with a heart embroidered on its chest. A fluffly toy is essential for long car rides, tantrums, naptime, and bedtime, as well as other traumatic events such as when your mommy gives you the wrong color fork at lunch. As in, “I need my RED fork, mommy, and now I need a fluffly toy to cuddle.”
She’s so serious about it that most of the time I end up turning my back to hide my chuckles. And hopefully I shared a few with you.
Leave a Reply