For Better or For Worse by Lynn Johnston for May 01, 2009

Why not speak to her in English? She’s got to learn it sometime.

True but with little kids and something this important you wanna keep the terms simple enough to the point there young minds will understand

Oh brother! Use actual words! Even my cat would think I was crazy if I ever talked like this.

I agree with Cleo and EJ.

Having potty-trained three of my own (thankfully many years ago and I’ve almost recovered from the experience), there is something to be said for talking to them not in words they can understand, but words they can SAY. It helps give them ownership over the process.

A stash of M&Ms helps too. :-)

That’s what I want! :)

How about French instead cleokaya (yeh, I know the Pattersons are Anglophone rather than Francophone but still…)?

slug queen, I’m editing your post subbing Smarties (Brit/Canuck, not Yank type which are “rockets” in Canada), which taste much sweeter (and give no guarantee of “melt in mouth not in hand”) and use a better-quality chocolate, for the M&M’s.

I’d better give the “Smarties Jingle” here:

When you eat your Smarties do you eat the red ones last? Do you suck them very slowly or crunch them very fast? Eat that candy-coated chocolate but tell me when I ask, When you eat your Smarties do you eat the red ones last?

i will never have children.

mmmmm smarties … love ‘em down under too

If it’s a pot call it a pot. What’s with this “poe”? That sounds idiotic. And why is she calling her Nizzie rather than Lizzie?

Studies have shown that children whose parents used baby talk instead of actual language with them struggled in school for the first few years. I cannot stand baby talk! My exMIL and exSIL used baby talk on exSIL’s son and that poor child couldn’t speak properly to save his life and had poor grades in English in school.

even speaking english to lizzie now won’t make a difference when she is a teen she will speak teen like ya know

Yuck, had to sign in for this one! Do not baby talk to your child! I use regular adult talk to my child & she is more verbal than you would believe. She uses the proper words in the proper context! Baby talk just holds them back! (And a stash of m&ms always helps potty training!)

We all got adult talk from the beginning and that got passed to kids of the family too. I think for me it goes back to one basic principle: start as you mean to finish.

Macush, the French pronunciation for pot (but not the spelling) is “po” (or “poe”).

(the word is a cognate)

Prasrinivara, yes if she knows French, one could occasionally throw a little into the mix. With two official languages, the younger you learn, the easier it is.

I never wanted children either ninmas, because I knew that I was to selfish to be a good dad. I don’t know how old you are, but often these feelings rapidly change. As, I became older, I see that while I didn’t become a father, I actually have really liked the contact and conversations that I have had with children and teens. But, I always talked to them like I would talk to an adult.

o- please! You didn’t really talk to your kids like this did you? Let them use “baby talk” while they’re learning, but do your dignity and theirs a favor and speak the Queen’s English!

That shape of potty for Lizzie to use for her potty looks weird. It looks like it comes from the hospice or hospital either.

Use “baby talk” with your significant other - not your children.

Am I the only one who laughed at this one? Lighten up! I’m an English major too, and realize that Lynn Johnson sees the joke here. “Nizzie” might be a nick-name: they’re affectionate terms. As we know, Elizabeth grew up to be a teacher… What I object to is giving candy as a reward, like you’re training a dog. Sugar/obesity anyone?

I did laugh, but I had to comment about the, “but you have to simple words.”

Simple doesn’t mean baby talk. And… Nizzie from Elizabeth?! I just don’t get that.

“You get to sit on a potty. It’s nice. It’s good. Big girls sit on the potty.”

Simple without the baby talk.

I agree with all those who don’t like babytalk. And, cleokaya, I didn’t exactly talk to kids like they were adults - I talked to them like they were people. I paid attention to what they had to say, and took their ideas seriously.

And you know what? They liked it! Which motivated me to continue doing it…

Don’t use baby talk with SOs either. UGH! I use it with the cat but it’s more like, “You’re so cute…oooh so cuddly!”

I use real words.

Baby talk may mean using this LOLcat speech to some. To me it means raising your voice to that annoying nasal sound. :D

Dakabin5 and RinaFarina. D’accord, I concede your points. No baby talk. My parents used adult language with me too, so I guess that even comic strips should as well. But that nasal high voice is hard to convey in a strip, n’est pas?

I agree with those who say adult talk is better. Have always used it with my son and he is exceptionally bright. And as far as the m&m’s go cheerios in the toilet worked wonders..Shooting practice.. :)

where can children learn proper language if it’s not spoken to them? And where can they learn respect if none is shown them? (just spouting here, not criticizing the strip) :þ

I like the cheerios idea, but what about a girl?