Will the First Word Be Dada? Or Mama? - 18 Months Old and Flagged for Delayed Speech - [Father's School | Parenting Edition]

It was around the time my son turned one and started toddling around.

Would his first word be "Dada", or "Mama"?

A silent, underlying battle was ongoing between my wife and me.

Son: "Kya☆~~◎too~♬ Paa↑↑◆"

Something that sounded like a word was starting to come out.

"Around 18 months is when meaningful speech begins to emerge."

That's what the parenting books said.

I was determined to make him say "Dada" first.

Dad: "Let's play with Dada. Da-da-"

Son: "Augh☆au~~★"

Hmm... so close!

I'm sure my wife was doing some secret training,

"Ma-ma-"

when I wasn't looking.

I couldn't let her win.

Vroom-vroom (car) Woof-woof (dog) Honk-honk (excavator)

I try to turn the things my son is interested in into words when I talk to him, while weaving in the word "Dada."

My son, around one and a half years old.

Son: "Ah◎ koryu~~n○ ba!!"

Wife: "Oh, yes, yes. Just a moment, okay?"

As a father, I have absolutely no idea what my son is saying.

But it seemed my wife understood this "son-speak."

This is the bond between mother and child...

While feeling a bit jealous, it was still a heartwarming scene from our daily life.

Then one day, my wife told me about the one-and-a-half-year checkup she had taken him to.

Wife: "Apparently, his speech is delayed, and the public health nurse said she wanted to talk to me about it."

Delayed speech?

According to parenting books, by the one-and-a-half-year checkup, it is expected that a child can say one or two meaningful words, like "doggy" or "car."

It is true that my son still only speaks in "son-speak."

Wife: "The public health nurse said she would call me again in a week."

Ever since then,

Son: "Nnya... nnyaaa~~...▽...tua...o~~"

While I found such "son-speak" endearing, I was also somewhat anxious, and found myself trying to interpret it as

"meaningful words."

I was trying to listen for them.

Boys often have delayed speech.

Once one word comes out, sometimes words start pouring out from there.

I read the pages of parenting books that said things like that over and over, as if clinging to them.

While waiting for the phone call a week later, my son only spoke in "son-speak."

But he would talk to me with a big smile on his face.

He was trying to communicate something.

It might be a little late, but the day will surely come when he speaks in words.

One day, while I was telling myself that,

when I returned home from work, my smiling wife and son greeted me.

My wife had a smile that seemed to overflow from the bottom of her heart.

Wife: "Hey, hey! Show Daddy!"

Then my son said

Son: "Leaf!"

??

What did he just say? Dada?

No, I don't think that's it.

Wife: "Come on, why don't you show him that too?"

Then, my son fumbled around and pulled something out of his pocket, and with a look of pure satisfaction,

Son: "Leaf!"

A leaf?

What he was holding in his hand was a leaf!

I see! A leaf!

Taking out the many leaves stuffed in his pockets, he smiled broadly and

"Leaf!"

repeatedly.

As if he were showing off his own treasures.

As if he were teaching his father that these are leaves.

My wife told me about the moment the word "leaf" came out of our son's mouth.

It happened when he was playing at a local park with some slightly older boys and girls.

They gathered leaves and scattered them all at once.

Then, they gathered them again.

My wife said that from an adult's perspective, she wondered what kind of game that was (laughs), but the children were laughing and playing with all their might.

"Gather the leaves!"

"There are leaves over there!"

My son was also picking up "leaves" with all his might.

When he tried to hand those leaves to a girl nearby, suddenly,

"...Leaf!"

A "word" came out.

The older girl who received it smiled and said,

"A leaf, you found one! Thank you!"

My son looked truly happy at that moment.

After that, every time he handed her a leaf, that older girl said
"Thank you!"
to him many times.

We played until the sun went down, and on the way home,

my son had his pockets stuffed full of "leaves".

I think that for my son that day, "leaves" were something special.

The first word in our home was,

leaf

It wasn't "Dada" or "Mama," but the "leaf" he taught me with sparkling eyes that day is a precious memory I will never forget.

And I am truly full of gratitude for the older girl who drew out my son's first word.

Thank you so much for saying
"Thank you"
to my son over and over again that day.

Postscript

Thank you for reading until the end.

From that day on, my son's "son-speak" gradually turned into meaningful words.
Rather than suddenly starting to talk in a flood, it felt more like the things he was trying to communicate started turning into actual words.

There were many mispronunciations, and they were just so, so cute (laughs).
I would like to properly "remember" these things as well and write them down.

To everyone who has read this far

I usually write articles centered on learning, such as my records of running alongside my teenage son in his studies.

If you have the time, please also read about the "Father's Cram School," which was the starting point for all of this.

Likes and comments are truly encouraging, so please feel free to leave them!

The parent-child study partnership that began with "15 minutes a day" in the month just before entering junior high school.
The father-son study partnership, "Father's Cram School," started here.

Why was the father so persistent, even though it wasn't for entrance exams?
The reason is revealed in the final chapter.

The magazine compiling the details of this "one-month intensive training" reached number one on Google search!
(As of the time this article was posted)

The "first regular test" after entering junior high school.
With the goal of my son's independent learning,
the "relaxed support-style Father's Cram School" begins, but...
I never imagined it would continue all the way until high school entrance exams...

*There is also a magazine that compiles the records of our three-year study partnership during junior high school!