Funny Names – When a 16 Months Old Labels Objects
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Do you have a nursery with Kuku, Brownie, Tada and Chuchu sitting on the headboard to keep a watch? Toddlers’ referring to objects with cute names is a normal developmental milestone. Yes, kids love to give meaningful names to their soft toys, dolls, and other favourite things!
It’s common to find toddlers referring to objects and toys with cute baby names. You have done it too! There are these stuffed animal’s and favourite dolls called ‘Mixed Tiger’ and ‘Bluebell ‘ that’ll surely leave you enchanted. Here’s why toddlers love naming objects with terms that make good sense only to them!
Toddlers Labelling Objects with Meaning- Why They Do It
1. It Helps Them Create A World of Their Own
Do you remember calling your first doll Pinky Baby? And then, there was Cabbage, a small area in your garden at home. Just like you did in your younger days, small kids love to give official names to their dolls, toys and stuffed animals. Assigning names to objects helps a child create a make-believe world that’s their very own. It gives them a sense of possessiveness too.
2. They Can Now Relate to Various Objects
“Nosh, why are you walking so slowly today?” “Geez run along if you need a bone!” It’s certainly cute to find your toddler talking to his grey elephant or purple dog this way. Even though he’s trying to communicate with wooden or cloth pull toys, your 16-months-old playing with pull toys with names shows that he has attained a development milestone that makes him relate to individual objects with the right commands.
3. Names Help Them Connect to Their Favourite Items
Be it at a nursery school, play area, crèche, or at home, you’ll have many interesting names reaching your ears. Tots love calling their favourite items by name- they are friends after all! So, is it Jerry- a white teddy, Llewellyn- a green dragon, or Humphrey- a hedgehog? Which are the common dolls’ and stuffed animal’s names that excite you the most?
4. Role Play Helps in Making Friends
Toddlers labelling objects with meaning during playtime goes a long way in making them friendlier and more sociable when they have to deal with other kids. They learn how to take turns, share with friends and empathise with others. Don’t be surprised if you find your little one organising a small tea party and mumbling “There’s just one cookie. Let’s give a small piece to Princess Patty, and a bit to Brownie Bunny.” She is in the process of attaining a new developmental chapter in her life.
How Do Toddlers Name Their Playthings?
16-months-old labelling objects would go about the process by referring to the colors, unique traits, or catchy features of everyday things, stuffed toys, and favourite play areas. For instance, a stuffed dolly with a pink dress and blonde pigtails wouldn’t be “ Bluebell”. She is likelier to be “Pink Fairy”!
Along with gaining confidence, encouraging free play and giving vent to their creativity, assigning names to objects also helps growing children understand the world better.
