Anonymous
Post 02/19/2015 17:47     Subject: Toddler won't call me "mommy"
PPs an thropological theory is really interesting! My son did have a speech delay; when the doctor or speech path asked what he called me, I always said "well...nothing. He doesn't have a word for me. I guess I'm just always, uh, there wherever he needs me. "
Anonymous
Post 02/19/2015 17:42     Subject: Toddler won't call me "mommy"
My son said mama around 22 months or so, which I thought was really late.
Anonymous
Post 02/19/2015 17:26     Subject: Toddler won't call me "mommy"
Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:Yeah, my first said everything before mommy. I feel like there's some anthropological linguistic observation that people often don't have a word for something that is extremely basic or omnipresent. Like some insular groups don't have a word to identify their own group. Or in the Bible where God says "I am I am" to Moses (or however that's translated). No need for a word -- you just are.
I never took a linguistics class or an anthropology class or a theology class, so I may be totally making any or all of this up.


That's what I've been wondering -- the lack of a label for someone omnipresent.


Interesting. My daughter's first words were "Hi Daddy!" Because DH was gone a lot and I was home with her a lot more at that age, we talked about "Daddy" a lot.

My son says mama, but it's unclear whether he means me. He starts saying it when my dad (who handles childcare) shows up, too, so who knows.
Anonymous
Post 02/19/2015 16:07     Subject: Toddler won't call me "mommy"
Anonymous wrote:Yeah, my first said everything before mommy. I feel like there's some anthropological linguistic observation that people often don't have a word for something that is extremely basic or omnipresent. Like some insular groups don't have a word to identify their own group. Or in the Bible where God says "I am I am" to Moses (or however that's translated). No need for a word -- you just are.
I never took a linguistics class or an anthropology class or a theology class, so I may be totally making any or all of this up.


That's what I've been wondering -- the lack of a label for someone omnipresent.
Anonymous
Post 02/19/2015 15:52     Subject: Toddler won't call me "mommy"
Anonymous wrote:Mommy is a dumb name. I always preferred mom.


Mommy, mom, mummy, mama are all dumb names. You are a mother.
Anonymous
Post 02/19/2015 15:45     Subject: Re:Toddler won't call me "mommy"
Anonymous wrote:For whatever reason my son said dad, the dog's name and my friend's name before he got around to mom...


+1. With my daughter, it was the cat's name, Dada, the dog's name, Nana, and then momma!
Anonymous
Post 02/19/2015 15:30     Subject: Toddler won't call me "mommy"
He may not be ready to say it yet or maybe he's not sure how to say it. They know a lot more words before they can say them. I have almost 2 year old twins and one of them waits until she's more confident with a word before she says it. I am sure it's not personal!!!!! They call me Mama and have only just recently started saying Mommy too.
Anonymous
Post 02/19/2015 15:24     Subject: Toddler won't call me "mommy"
My DD's first word was mum. She was referring to her papa. At 21 months she still calls him mum. She can't or won't say papa. It took her awhile before she called me anything.
Anonymous
Post 02/19/2015 15:24     Subject: Toddler won't call me "mommy"
My 18 month old regularly speaks in actual sentences (WAY ahead of the curve, and WAY ahead of what my older kids).

She knows exactly who I am, and always calls me Mommy EXCEPT (for some strange reason we have not figured out yet), when she sees me at Daycare pickup she calls me "Daddy".

I just chalk it up to the fact that kids are all different, will do their own thing, and will figure out what's what in their own time.
Anonymous
Post 02/19/2015 15:21     Subject: Toddler won't call me "mommy"
Because you respond to the yelling. Try not responding as quickly, then saying "Oh, do you want Mommy?" And have your DH refer to you as Mommy as well.

My DD would say "DA!" very excitedly, and my husband was overjoyed. Turns out she only said it when he was standing between her and a dog.
Anonymous
Post 02/19/2015 15:12     Subject: Toddler won't call me "mommy"
Anonymous wrote:"M" and "N" is harder to say than "D", so it takes them longer.


That's not actually true. All you have to do to produce an M sound is shut your mouth. D requires tongue articulation.

OP, my kid said "octopus" before he said "mommy" -- I'm going with the theory that I was always there and so he didn't need to ask for me.
Anonymous
Post 02/19/2015 15:08     Subject: Toddler won't call me "mommy"
8 months - kitty
10 months - dog, puppy, berries, baby, cat's name, grandma's cat's name
11 months - mommy

Sounds like a normal progression to me!
Anonymous
Post 02/19/2015 14:59     Subject: Toddler won't call me "mommy"
Yeah, my first said everything before mommy. I feel like there's some anthropological linguistic observation that people often don't have a word for something that is extremely basic or omnipresent. Like some insular groups don't have a word to identify their own group. Or in the Bible where God says "I am I am" to Moses (or however that's translated). No need for a word -- you just are.
I never took a linguistics class or an anthropology class or a theology class, so I may be totally making any or all of this up.
Anonymous
Post 02/19/2015 14:57     Subject: Re:Toddler won't call me "mommy"
Our daughters first word was the dogs name ( Bailey) she said 'bay'....She would even call him, way before she said our names. We are Mommy and Mama so it took a while for her to get that sorted out.
Anonymous
Post 02/19/2015 14:56     Subject: Re:Toddler won't call me "mommy"
Anonymous wrote:Yea, sometimes mama is last because they don't see you as separate from them.

Now my 4 year old wentthrough a two or three month phase of calling em by my first name. That was annoying. And then it stopped.


+1