As a parent I sometimes feel there can be too much focus on helping your child to get things right, or do things the correct way. Sometimes it can be nice to just let them be children. They all get there in the end!

All young children get a few words a bit confused or mispronounced. Some of Little I’s ‘wordisms’ are just so lovely that we’ve chosen not to correct them. I know one day she will be corrected by someone else, or figure it out for herself…but for the time being I love to hear her own version of these words.

Gary – meaning, “Granny”. My mum always wanted to be called “Granny”, and was happy to wait for it as she realised it was much harder to say than “Nana” for example. But on the path towards saying “Granny”, Little I came out one day with “Gary”, and it’s stuck. We now all call my Mum “Gary”! I have to admit it gets a few weird looks sometimes.

Beachside – meaning, “seaside” or “beach”. We live in Bournemouth very close to the beach, and very early on Little I coined the word “beachside”. It always makes me smile when she says it.

Bamana – meaning, “banana”. It’ll be a sad day when she pronounces “banana” correctly!

Spicy – meaning, “itchy”. One day Little I told me she had a “spicy foot”. I wasn’t sure what she meant exactly until a few weeks later she told me her leg was “a bit spicy”, where she had an insect bite. The thing that I love about her use of this word is that she clearly thought hard about a word to best describe an itchy sensation, and she ended up with ‘spicy’. It’s not bad really!

Hot burger – meaning, “hamburger”. Derived from “hot dog”, Little I rationalised that a burger in a bun must be called a “hot burger”. We now all call it this and it’s another that is likely to stick.

Basghetti – meaning, “spaghetti”. This is another lovely mispronunciation.

Decland – meaning, “Declan”. One of Little I’s friends who she sees a lot of is called Declan, but she’s always called him “Decland”. It sounds so sweet that we haven’t corrected her.

Bamato – meaning, “tomato”. I have no idea why Little I pronounces ‘tomato’ in this way as she has never had a problem making the ‘t’ sound.

Tail – meaning, “willy”! This is another of Little I’s inventions, and it says what it is on the tin really! For as long as she’s been able to talk she has always referred to a boy’s bits as a tail!

Zoomi – her pet name for me. Little I loves to role-play, and often with me. When we are playing together she calls me “Zoomi”, and herself “Rosie”. It’s been this way for well over a year and I wonder how long it will last for. Thankfully she calls me “Mummy” the rest of the time.

How about you? What are your children’s favourite ‘wordisms’? Please share with me below.