Communicating with a Toddler

Lili is about 16 months old now and is seldom quiet, engaging in her own mix of jibberish and random words. In the past few months, she has begun to learn and use words crucial to her communication in daily life. She understands many more words than she can speak, but that is to be expected. She can nod yes and no, and also can say no so she is capable of affirming her answers to our questions.

Her current word/phrase list consists of (I only count those words that are properly used in context):

Dog, Mymy (dog’s name), Nonna, Papa, Dada, Mama, More, What’s This?, What’s That? Who’s That?, Cracker, Cookie, Food, No, Nana, Lola, Blue, Texas, Poop, Hot, Wet, Wow, Wiggle, Up, Bye, Done, Go, Bubbles, Apple, Off, Bone, Yuck, Back, Blocks, Papi, Book

She can understand but does not say in context:

Upstairs, Downstairs, Fanny Slide, Come here, May I have some?, Diaper Change, Leche, Milk, Breakfast, Lunch, Kitchen, Bathroom, Kissy Bear, Stories, Get Dressed, Shoes, Socks, Jacket, Car, Airplane, Elephant, Flower, Smell, Wipes, Potty, Cold, Clean, Down, Outside, Inside, Play, Wait, GG, Aedan, Lili, Baby, Acorn, Squirrel, Bird, Buenas Noches, Agua, Water, Kisses, Phone, Eat, Cheese, Sausage, Eggs, Grapes, Berries, Brush, Lotion, Spoon, Fork, Chip, Pull, Push, Want, On, Lights, Sleepy, Rain, Park, Careful, Sharp, Nose, Ears, Eyes, Teeth

I don’t write her words down as I hear them, so I am sure I am missing a few, but those are the biggies that stand out in my tired state.

In terms of her non-verbal communication, she is really impressive. The following are a few highlights of the most useful encounters:

-When she is getting a bit cuddly and whiney I ask her “Lili, are you getting sleepy?” and she will generally nod. Then she either goes into the bathroom to brush her teeth, or goes straight to her bed for stories.

-She was over at her grandparents’ house and got the attention of her Papi, directed him to the stairs then proceeded up the stairs and into the room that holds her pack and play. She then took a nap. (Mind you, she has only slept in that room about a dozen times)

-At my parents house she was delayed taking her nap and was going for a car ride. As she entered the car, she pointed to her iPad (white noise maker) and then promptly went to sleep.

-She now alerts me to a dirty diaper by pointing to the location of her clean diapers and says “Poop”.

-When she is hungry, she will go into the kitchen and say Food or point to her chair. If its not breakfast, lunch or dinnertime she will grab a snack and bring it to me to give her.

-If she breaks or spills something she will come find someone, make a grunting noise, and point to the location of the mishap. (I admire her honesty and hope it continues!)

I really look forward to interacting with her in this new way. I know it will bring more challenges in terms of fighting me on things, but I’ll try to embrace it.