Parental Karma

Worry. It is the habit of every new parent. You want your kid to grow up normal, smart, happy, with minimal challenges. And when things do not go according to plan, you worry, and that worry begins to fester. I did it to my parents; I was a late talker. Who knew that a future PREACHER would freak out his parents by refusing to speak! It concerned my parents enough that they took me to doctors and professionals to make sure I was developing okay. It turned out I was fine, I started chattering my parents' ears off without any therapy or surgery or whatnot, and everyone lived happily ever after. Until....the sequel!

The Vow of Silence: Part II! I became the parent, and then my son became the latest addition to the silent-kid-club. He had grown up well so far; happy, content, very busy, very independent, and very analytical. Seriously, this kid studies everything with a focus that would rival many a scientist. Of course there was one thing lacking as of last fall...speech. My wife and I would talk constantly to him, read to him, sing to him, dance, run, play, ANYTHING to encourage him to repeat what we said.....to no avail. He would just stare with those giant brown eyes, grin, and soak it all in without any response. I kept repeating to myself, "I did this to my parents. I did this to my parents. Karma. Karma. He will be fine."

My son spoke 6-8 words at the time, which was considered to be behind as far as development in 16ish month olds. Those words included, "Out-side," "Dada (which he would only repeat me saying)," "Mama (the same repeat thing)," and "6, 7, 8, 9." I have no clue where that came from. He would never say 1-5, even when I would say them. But when you got to 6, he would take over until 10. He showed he could understand us, but he was serious about his vow of silence. Talk about frustration! So what does a good parent do? Take him to the doctor and give him an additional checkup. It is a humbling thing to do; to admit that you need help and that you've reach the end of your parental rope. So just as the tests began...BOOM!

My son experienced a LANGUAGE EXPLOSION! Seriously, that's what I call it. Non-stop chatterbox. It's karma. Here's a little video proof (I hit record after 1-6, take my word for it)

Let it be said, there is no shame in asking for help when you new at the parenting thing and things are looking uncertain. Being humble and asking for help can give you a piece of mind, which is worth a lot more than being prideful and getting into a deeper mess. If you have any encouraging stories of the young trials of parenting, please share! Peace.