Yogs Expanding Vocabulary

Yog has always been a keen observer of life, using all his senses to explore and learn about the world around him.Till now, he has been silently observing and soaking in his immediate environment. We were initially worried about his delayed speech, but then gave up believing that he will figure something out on his own soon. Because he used to rarely speak, we got accustomed to taking decision on his behalf and carrying out conversations forgetting that he was even around.

That is, until recently. One fine day, Yog decided that he had learnt enough of the world him through observation. Now it was time to learn through expression. He started combining words to make sentences. Soon thereafter he was combining sentences to express opinions. And recently, his opinions have turned to decisions! We can all imagine what happens when a two year old has given his decision. He will stick by his decision to mix water in his rice no matter what. Or wear “Green Shoes” to school. He doesn’t really understand our confusion because both his shoes are actually green. Which particular shoe is he referring to after all? A split second delay in meeting His Highness decision results in a mini riot inside the house. Hence the entire household is on its toes trying to execute his decision as quickly as possible.

Phew! I think we brought this upon ourselves by silently praying that he starts speaking soon. What was the rush after all!?! We could have enjoyed the peace for a little while more.

Today, as I packed both kids to bed, Yog jumped around on the bed singing broken nursery rhymes. Then he stared onto the roof counting numbers “2, 3, 6, 8, 4”. He then rolled over to give his sister a kiss and said with all his love, “Akka, tupi”. His sister was surprised and said, “Tupi what Yog??” He patiently repeated himself, “Akka, tupid!” Not getting a response from Akka, he again said, “Akka, tupid!” It then struck Akka and she sat up quickly and said, “Mama, he called me stupid!!” With that she burst out laughing! I couldn’t believe my ears that Yog had actually learnt this world already. Yog was so thrilled to see Akkas reaction to his comment that he went into a rhythm, “Akka, tupid, Akka tupid!!”

Just because Yog did not speak much till now, we assumed he did not hear much either. As it turns out, he was listening more attentively than we can imagine. We can all now gear up to hear all of that back from him soon. I think I will have to put a disclaimer on the entrance of our home door, “Enter at your own risk. Yog on the loose!”