What is a "Tekemon"!? A story about being overwhelmed by the cuteness of a child's mispronunciation
Being a doting parent is just inevitable, isn't it?
Was cuteness always this destructive?
I've decided to take this opportunity to record those "agonizingly cute moments" of my children that I recently remembered and couldn't help but grin at.
◼️【Cute Point ①: Baby Gestures Edition】
Back then, what I watched all day long was—my daughter's hand, foot, and mouth movements.
She would stare intently at her own cute little hands, try to put them into her mouth with great enthusiasm... but since she hadn't grasped the sense of distance yet, she wouldbump them against her forehead or cheeks with a soft thud.
That was, well,the absolute cutest thing.
The face she made when she finally reached her mouth and was sucking on her fist with satisfaction... I thought, "Is this a national treasure?"
Watching her grab her cute little feet, try her best to bring them to her mouth, and lick them was a sight so happy I could watch it forever.
My son was a thumb-sucker, and when he went to sleep, he couldn't fall asleep unless he was sucking his right thumb and touching the "buttons" on my pajamas with his left hand.
(Because of this, my obsession with having all my mom-pajamas come with buttons was born.)
The way he would look up at me while sucking his thumb... cu-teee!
Yes, the doting parent is complete.
Finally, we promised a month in advance, "Let's stop when you turn two," counted down from a week before, and on the night of his birthday, I applied some bitter nail polish and put him to bed... and believe it or not,he graduated in two days!
You were so good, you worked so hard.
I think the key to our success was not forcing him to stop (talking to him and getting him to understand) and using nail polish specifically for quitting thumb-sucking.
↑This is thethumb-sucking graduation nail polishthat I only used twice.
I tried it myself and licked it, and it certainly is bitter enough to make you think, "I'll stop licking this."
But it's not enough to make you agonize over it, though💦
◼️【Cute Point ②: Lisping Toddler Talk/Mispronunciations】
This is the kind of thingI want to record and save forever!
Why do toddlers' "cute mispronunciations" grab your heart so tightly?
But when you try to record them, they say it correctly... and then they never say it that way again.
🌼A few examples🌼
"Oh-oh, it's all over-over!" (One-year-old daughter. When her favorite anime ended. "Oh-oh, it's over." Cute. I wanted her to say it forever.)
"Love-y!" (Two-year-old daughter. "I love you!" So close! But precious.)
"Manatee" (Three-year-old daughter. Referring to the sea creature, a manatee.)
"I want to eat some mee-mee" (Two-year-old son. "Mee-mee" refers to gummy candy. He begs for gummies while looking up at me... I'm defeated... no, I must resist.)
"Tekemon" (Two-year-old son. Referring to Pokémon)
"Churu-churu" (My three-year-old son's word for udon. His kindergarten teacher was absolutely charmed, saying, "He said 'churu-churu'!")
I wanted to keep hearing that lisp forever, but my son's lisp was so pronounced that his kindergarten teacher became concerned, and we ended up having a consultation with a speech-language pathologist.
It was decided that it wasn't necessary for him to attend a speech therapy class, but I was advised to have him use his jaw more by eating things like meat and rice crackers.
(Apparently, speech therapy classes are for students who have challenges with language development.)
As a parent, I wanted to keep hearing it forever, though. To make communication with others go smoothly, you have to have clear pronunciation, right?
I reflected on that.
◼️My child is the cutest in the world!
I still remember the words from back then that left an impression.
After all, those upturned eyes and those words are burned into my eyes and ears!
My daughter is in junior high school now and has completely settled down; she doesn't say "I love you so much!" anymore (lol).
But we play by singing songs that are popular on YouTube together.
(Huh? What kind of songs, you ask? Things like "Ehho, ehho!" or "A-patsu apatsu!" 🤣)
My son will surely enter puberty soon too, and act as if he forgot that he used to say he loved his mom so much 💕.
But it's okay to keep being a doting parent, right?
Because my daughter and son are,the cutest in the world!
You, reading this.
Don't you feel like talking about how cute your own child is?
I get it. Uh-huh.
My child is the cutest in the world!
This article was written to participate in Chiaki | Former Nursery Teacher & Mom of 2 Writer'sPositive Parenting Campaign Project.
If you feel like talking about how cute they are, please join in.
However, I'm sorry, but the deadline is today at 23:59 💦.
If you don't make it in time, please write it in the comments ✨.
Let's be absolutely charmed by their cuteness together 😊.
#PositiveParentingCampaign
#ChildcareRecord
#ChildGrowth
#Mispronunciation
#BabyGestures
#ThumbSuckingGraduation
#ToddlerTalk
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