Vocabulary of an Olivea

Let me preface this by saying I'm not an expert. I read up on things and do some casual research...and when I share things, I am only telling you what I did that worked, or didn't work. That does not mean anyone should feel discouraged or think my way will work for everyone.

That said...people ask me all the time how Liv (now 20 months) got such a good vocabulary. Based on what I've read average for her age is 12-15 spoken words. I'm not trying to brag...but Liv has way surpassed that. Why? I don't know...it could be the things we have done. It could be genes. It could be she is a super genius baby. It could be that I'm a stay at home mom now so I spend a ton of time with her.  Or it could be she is just good with words. Her dad and I are both chatter boxes. I do not know the specifics of why I find her to be so completely amazing...maybe I'm just her mom and therefore, she is amazing to me and to everyone else she is just a normal 20 month old.

But...I will say this...when I was pregnant my doctor told me I had a strong willed baby. When she was born her pediatrician told me she was very strong. She rolled over for the first time at 6 weeks (and yess, I accidentally got it on video). She was crawling at 4.5 months. She was walking at 11 months (I know this is pretty normal). So...I will say even if she is not a genius, I am still a super proud mom.

What can she do...she knows a LOT of animals and their sounds and obscure ones too like a zebra, dolphin, whale. She can count to 20. She can count backwards from 10. She knows her shapes. She knows some of her colors. She can see a number 1-9 and tell you what it is. She can see letters and tell you what those are (I'd say about half of them). She can sing entire songs. She can point to pictures in books and tell you what they are like animals, sun, rain, grass, clouds, etc. She tells me what she needs or wants. She says short sentences. She can count to 10 in Spanish. She knows colors in Spanish. She can sign some things.

So what things did I do that may have encouraged her? I'll tell you what I can remember...and if you have questions, post them up and I will answer. :)

• I talk to her all the time. I talked to her when I was pregnant. I talked to her before she could talk. I talked to her about simple things, big things...when we were in the grocery store I told her what we needed and what we were looking at. I told her what we needed to do that day. I told her that I loved her a million times a day. 

• I read to her. We read to her when I was pregnant. We read to her all the time. We have rule that if she brings us a book, we stop what we are doing and read. Yes...it can be a total pain. But everything else in the world can wait. I want her to love books and love reading and I feel this encourages her rather that making her feel discouraged that I don't have the time. When we read, I ask her about the things on the page. Not just the words in the book. And I always read everything to her, magazines, newspaper articles, things online I was reading. Before she could understand the words, she just needed to hear them.
• I NEVER use baby terms. If she says something to me that is her version of the word, I tell her the correct way to say it and encourage her to try. Like "ba ba"...I would say "here is your bottle. Can you say bottle?" And I would say it slowly. They will say ba ba a thousand times before they say bottle...but they have to hear bottle to know that is the right way.

• I take her places. The zoo, Disneyland, the beach, the park...I just get her out of the house to experience other things. Is is always easy, no. Is it always convenient ..no. But I feel like in order to really learn about the world, she has to experience it.

• I use apps. Yep...I do. There are many free and not free apps that are great for babies. "I hear ewe," is a free app that we have that has animal sounds and non-animal sounds. It teaches the name of the animal and the sound it makes. The fisher-price apps are really good too. Not only do they teach words, letters, numbers, animal...but it helps with their motor skills and hand-eye coordination too (at least in my experience). And I know some parents limit how much time their kid spends on apps...I don't. She doesn't really spend all that much time anyway because she has the attention span of a gold fish. So a few minutes here and there is not a big deal. I'll worry about that when she is older.
• And against all the expert advice out there...she watches age appropriate TV. Baby Einstein was the only thing that I could put on that would occupy her so I could shower in the first few months. Every doctor and expert will tell you that TV is bad. Maybe it is...maybe she would be even smarter without TV, but TV has taught her things that I know I didn't. An example: When she was maybe 7 months old, she was in her crib and I turned the TV on so I could get a few extra minutes of sleep. I heard her saying "rawr" and "grrr." I looked up and Dino Dan was on...she was making dino sounds! Another example: the other day I asked her what color blueberries were. She replied in a very confident "azul," (Spanish for blue). I have not gotten into Spanish with her yet...she learned that from Dora the Explorer. I don't allow junk TV, violence, or things that do not have educational value (aside from the occasional Disney movie).
• We sing. I like to just make up songs sometimes when I am doing chores. I also sing the Nick Jr. songs to her and the old classic kiddie songs. We do the hand signs, we dance, and she is learning. She can sing "Twinkle twinkle little star" on her own. She knows most of the "ABC" song. She knows the "Wheels on the bus," and a few others. Music definitely helps kids learn.
• I explain things to her in simple, but not baby language. For example...she does not have a long attention span...so I will tell her "I need to talk to you. Look at mommy. We have gymnastics tomorrow, and I want you to be on good behavior. Listen. And no tantrums." Sometimes it works...sometimes it doesn't. But hey, I try.

I think the bottom line is, do your research. Do what YOU are comfortable doing. Know that your child IS the absolute most important thing in your life and give them the attention they need. I don't hover over Liv 24/7...she has her own play time....she has quiet time before bed. But when she needs me, I am there. Sure there are days when I think, I really want to do this today...and she is not having it. I still try....but sometimes I have to think of at the end of my life what is more important...that I read some celebrity gossip on TMZ, or that I gave my daughter a piggy back ride around the house. When I think in those terms....my choices become much more clear.

Next time I am going to talk about what I do for fitness with her and I. We have exercise time together everyday and we also take a mommy and me gymnastics class. So I will share with you all some of the stuff we do to be active.

Cheers!!!
CC