David Chart's Blog

Say “Please”

We all eat dinner together as a family, although Mayuki shows a variable amount of interest in the food on offer. I wouldn’t say that she’s picky, but what she decides to eat varies from day to day.

Sometimes, she decides that she wants to be fed, and asks Yuriko or me for food. It’s usually me, and not because Yuriko refuses. Very often, she’s asking for more rice. (Of course, other days she leaves half or more of her rice untouched. Babies are predictable and consistent. Why would you think otherwise?) I normally ask her what she wants, so “Do you want some rice?”, for example, and if I’m right she raises her hand and says “hai”, which is Japanese for “yes”. It’s very cute.

Today, I decided to start trying to teach her some manners, so after she’d said she wanted rice, I said “Can you say “please”?”. “Peeee”, said Mayuki. That’s close enough for now. She also said it on further occasions, with a bit of prompting, so maybe she won’t have to rely on being cute to get people to overlook her bad manners after all.

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David Chart

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2 responses to “Say “Please””

  1. Carin avatar
    Carin

    Have you tried baby sign language? It’ll impress the grandparents no end, especially as it’s universally understood. I found John took to it very easily and used it in tandem with speech. it was sometimes easier to understand the sign than baby talk and so much less frustrating for him. It comes into its own when the child is tired or ill as it seems to require less brain function than talking. It may have been that J just didn’t get a word in edgeways otherwise…

    I’ve signed up for a Japanese language class at Samsi in Manchester, simply so that I can gossip with Yuriko next time I see her! The alternative is baby signing…

    Roasting hot here with ridiculous temperatures- lovely! Off to Norfolk mid-month to paddle and catch crabs.

    Best love to you all. More pictures of the very photogenic Miss Chart please. Will reciprocate with the not so pretty but much loved J.

    Carin

  2. David Chart avatar
    David Chart

    Hi Carin.

    Mayuki never really took to baby sign; she liked the sign for “milk” but never used the others much. Now, of course, she knows separate words for “cow’s milk” and “breast”, which she uses depending on which one she’s after… Of course, we might not have been dedicated enough about using it.

    Glad to hear you’re enjoying the temperatures there. It’s still relatively cool here; only about 25. It should go up sharply in a couple of weeks. Good luck with the Japanese classes, although I hope we’re going to see you before you’ve had long enough for them to really work.

    More photos of Mayuki will go up once I’ve taken some. I’ve been neglecting that a bit recently, partly because my camera is getting old and the batteries barely hold a charge anymore. No excuse, I know. Must get some photos taken. (And while J may not be as pretty, I think that’s because he’s too definitely a little boy. “Pretty” just isn’t the right word.)

    Love to everyone.

    David

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