W is for wagon

We were at the park the other night and just as we were getting ready to go, this very cute little boy, about 18 months old, charged on over followed by his mom who had been over in the bigger park with her son, older son, and husband. She was Asian - I don't know where from, but she spoke English quite well, but with an accent (this is relevant to the story ;)

So, it's time for us to go and we'd already been prompting Kiernan to get back in the wagon for the ride home. So he runs over to the wagon and hollers over to us "Tiernan go in the wagon!"

And the woman looks at me in disbelief. "He just said a sentence! How old is he?"

So I tell her that he's almost two, and yes, he's quite advanced with his language skills.

She starts telling me how her older son only started talking at two, and how her younger son, at 18 months old only had a few words.

And so I said again "ya, he's really ahead with talking." and something like "oh kids... they're all so different aren't they?"

But she's not ready for that to be the answer. "Did you put him in some kind of training?"

"Um, no"

"He just picked it up? You didn't work with him?"

"Well... we talk to him a lot and tell him stories and sing songs...."

"But he speaks so well, I think you must have taught him with some special program"

"No..."

"He just picked it up? My son at two only said a few words. Babies only say a few words at two, they don't talk in sentences"

By now, I'm just not sure what else to say anymore so fortunately her 18 month old ran off and she had to chase after him. I'm sure that (this is where it gets relevant) that she must be teaching her kids two languages at the same time which always slows down the speed that kids start talking but it was her unwillingness to just believe that some kids naturally talk earlier that I didn't know what to do with.

Or, I mean, send your kid to my house for my special learn to talk early program - only $499.99 ;)