The Anatomy of a Toddler/Preschooler Conversation

While I was unexpectedly hosting our neighborhoods’ block party on July 4th, my husband and I witnessed a conversation between 5 small children.  They ranged in age from 15 months to 5 years old.  It went something like this:

Child #1:  My brother plays video games.

Child #2:  I have a ball.

Child #3:  I like chicken.

Child #4:  This bike is nice.

Child #5:  Eeeeeee!  Awwwwweeeee!

Okay, in fairness, that last child was Hazeline shrieking.  She’s not so good with words yet (although, surprisingly she knows a bunch), so she stuck with what she knows best – shrieking.  Anyway, as Erajh and I sat there watching this conversation, which actually went much longer than the snippet provided above, we were amazed.  The kids were all just talking.  Not with each other, but to each other.  About anything.  Not one of them responded to something the other said before them.  And yet, they were having a fabulous time.

Wouldn’t it be great if adult communication could be this easy?  As adults, we worry so much about what we say to others.  Are we going to offend someone with something we say?  Are we going to say something wrong or off topic and look foolish?  Will people understand us when we explain something?  And yet with kids it’s so ridiculously easy.  They talk about what they see and know.

So maybe the next time my boss asks me about that project I’m working on, I’ll just reply, “I like cheese.”*  Because I do like cheese, and I’d love to see if this tactic could be transferred to adult life.  Things would be a lot simpler.

*My husband just read this post and dared me to do it.  I might just have to.