One day, when I got home late evening from work and I heard my maid, Jasmin, who is having a conversation with my 14-month old boy.


Jasmin : Boy, how old are you?
Sammy : One! *in his baby-accent*
Jasmin : How many teeth do you have?
Sammy : E-ight! *big smile on his face and clapping his hand*

Another occasion, when I was sitting in the living room with my little boy, going through the small flash cards (a friend gave him as a present on his first birthday), in his baby-accent again, he started… ‘banana’, ‘horse’, ‘pig’, ‘rabbit’, ‘bird’, ‘star’, ‘leg’, ‘clock’, ‘snake’, ‘ant’ and often coupled with action, like ‘clap his hand together’ when he sees mosquito in the flash card... we really just casually read/speak to him, didn’t we realise that he is absorbing and remembering those words… *I thought he is too young to be able to utter any of those words*

Wow, I was so impressed!

The statement about the first six years of a baby/toddler is crucial development years… it rumbles in my ears… it is an never ending internal struggle…