Should I correct my two-and a half year old with her words?

Question

My nearly three year old often mixes up words or interchanges syllables, when I try to teach her "This old man" she sings the chorus as
"Knick Knack, Knacky Knack, Knicker Knacker Bore"

Of if I tickle her saying Goochie Goochie, she responds Chugie Chugie

Should I correct her or will it pass?

Serious answers only, please.

GREAT ANSWERS, all who answered my question. I got 33 answers so far. I don't think I can give the best to everyone, though I'd love to. The basic gist of all t he answers is that I should take it easy and if at all should correct her gently by saying the correct phrase. Well, I deliberately started her singing This old man and guess what.... yeah, she said, knick knack paddy whack, knicker knacker bore.... so it is improving. I'm sure now that, that knicker knacker will turn into 'give the dog a' soon. But I am keeping her under observation in any case. She still sings, 'Heigh Ho, the RADIO, the farmer in the dell!' I've been wondering whether this interchanging of some syllables is common. If you've come across it, just leave a comment.
Great answers everyone, so I will chose one that generally is representative of the whole lot. Thanks again.

Answer 1

no no no no!
this is the wrost thing you could do. sh'es 2 and a half...she wont have perfect speech and language at this lever...she's still developing. its fabulous that she tries to imitate...this is all develoment. if anything you should repeat what she says in the correct way...but not use words such as...no darling..this is how u say it etc etc just be encouraging that she is attempting!
trust me this will pass...and if it doesnt the nursery or school will refer her to a speech and language therapist...which i am very doubtful will happen
hope this helps!

Answer 2

Depending on the words, I may gently correct my daughters (ages 3 years and 21 months) occasionally. However, what I usually do is just repeat the phrase correctly back to them.

So, if my 3-year-old says, "I hanged the picture on the refrigerator," then I say, "I see that you hung it up," or something similar. Usually, she hears that I said it differently, and she'll respond, "Yep, I hung it up."

In songs, I just try to sing a little more slowly and clearly when it's a part that I know my daughters didn't hear correctly. So, slow down a bit when you get to the "Knick Knack Paddywack" part of the song. Enunciate very clearly, and look her in the eye when you're singing so that she's really focusing on what you're saying.

And I think baby talk is fun and silly as long as you're not using it all the time. If you say "Goochie Goochie" when you're tickling her, I think that's just a fun thing to say and hear. If I were being silly like that, I might respond, "Chugie Chugie?! Chugie Chugie?!" and tickle her some more. Then, say "Goochie Goochie" again. It allows her to hear the difference in the words without making a big deal about it.

One other thing I've done with my girls is to just ask them to try to say a word. "Can you say 'goochie'?" Then, let them try to say it while they're actively listening.

One more thing that I've done with my 3-year-old is to make a game out of certain sounds. She was struggling with the "th" sounds, so while we were riding in the car one day, I said, "Can you say, 'this thing has teeth'?" She laughed and practiced it again and again for several days until she got it. It was a fun phrase to say, and it made her want to try to say it.

Your daughter is probably doing just fine, and her language skills will improve. Just keep speaking to her clearly and mostly in adult language, and she'll be just fine.

Answer 3

I am a qualified childcare practitioner and my advise would be to correct her as you're going along such as if she says "Knick knack, knacky knack, knicker knacker bore" you then say"Yes, knick knack paddy whack give the dog a bone. Well done"

Answer 4

You should... and at this point you should no longer be baby-talking her. Talk to her with real words and sounds which she can imitate. There are some commonly used words though that you can use while she's still at this age such as if it's potty time you can teach her to say , "poo-poo" or "wee-wee" for peeing... or instead of "dog" she can say "doggie" or for a cat "kittie", etc... Be extra patient with her coz she doesn't think like you do.. but her pronunciation of words should be corrected as early as now. Otherwise you'll have a hard time doing so when she's all grown up.

Answer 5

Yes, the sooner the better.

My son says binger instead of finger & has problems with the letter r. the health visitor said these are the common speech problems that kids have so just encourage them to say that words correctly.

When he says it wrong now, we just say "pardon?" and he knows he has to say the word slowly and think about what he is saying.

Speech doesn't come properly until they are coming up to 5 years of age, but encourage her now so she can nip it in the bud before going to school & copying others getting it wrong. It's not really that big a deal at her age. Your health visitor wouldn't be concerned.

Good luck :-)

Answer 6

Try not to make it obvious that y ou are correcting her, but instead repeat back what she says. If she says tan we do in the tar, you should reply with yes, we can go in the car, gently emphasising the correct pronounciation. If you are very obvious in correcting her, ie saying no say it like this, it might cause her to develop a bit of a complex about her speech and she might actually regress further.

Answer 7

when she makes a mistake just say the correct word after her and keep doing this until she gets it right but don't make to big a deal of it as she will get frustrated and lose interest. it may be an idea to set aside reading time so she gets to hear more words and see pictures to put with them and just always talk to her about things as you go about your day. the more she hears things the quicker she will pick up on them. i found these play 'n' learn cards really helpful as they have the word with the pictures and you make scenes and stories it also teaches them numbers and things about everyday life.
take a look at www.atlaseditions.co.uk

Answer 8

Absolutely correct her. I have a five year old that is starting kindergarden this year and he still pronounces bathroom as bashroom. And says thirsty as shirsty. And I am constently correcting him with that and other phrases that he uses especially when he says the words see, saw, and seen in all the wrong ways. So yes if you don't correct them, nobody else will.

Answer 9

Yes you really should children are like sponges at this age and if you dont correct her now she is always going to think she is getting it right and will be confused later of she is suddenly told that the words she is using is wrong when she has been allowed for so long to continue using those words.

Answer 10

I would correct her every now and then but dont make a big deal about it and yea the baby talk does nothing for babies, I dont talk to babies like that even if they are 6 months old, I might throw the same tone of voice on there but no words that you wouldnt say to a adult