The First Two Years: Cognitive Development

Once again this week, I just kept comparing everything I read to my daughter's development. However, this time rather than seeing what she had in common with what I was seeing and reading, I just kept noticing how different her language development has been compared to what the universal sequence explains the average toddler understands and says. Capree doesn't talk much at all. She knows a few words, but rambles on in her own little language for hours at a time. She responds really well to people when spoken to, so she understands what's being said to her for the most part, but doesn't speak much. The average 18 month old can say up to about 50 words according to our book, but she can say maybe 7 or 8. She uses intonation and even her babbling sounds like she's trying to have an actual conversation. I'm excited to see when she will actually learn to say more words and go through the naming explosion. Her first word was "Bob," which is my cat's name. While I was kind of disappointed that it wasn't "mama" or even "dada," it was funny that it turned out to be the cat that made the biggest impression on her. Plus, the word is much simpler. I have, in fact, become a pro at "motherese," so much that I feel like my normal voice is actually higher pitch. It's only going to get worse once I have 2 babies to talk to all day!