Wait! I’m Not Weady Yet
Rocky Raccoon runs âround the race track as the crowd ROARRRRS and CHEERRRRRS and reads recipes at recess.
No, I have not cashed in all my sanity chips. Not completely. The above phrase is just one of many things I have repeated over and over since the new year began because my seven-year-old son has resolved to say his Rs better this year. To say that this breaks my heart is like saying Bill Gates is a little well off. You have no idea how this saddens me.
Nothing is sweeter than a little boy looking up at the sky and saying something like, âMom, I just saw THWEE falling STAHS!â? Or upon puking saying, âDonât CWY, Mommy. I PWOMISE Iâll buy you a new WUG!â?
But Jonahâs in first grade now. And all the kids have taken that secret class that they take sometime after Kindergarten ends and first grade begins. You know, that class that teaches them the art of cruelty. A group of especially well-learned girls have made Jonah and his speech impediment their first assignment.
Over Christmas vacation I walked in on him one night lying on his bed going Aww Awww Awwwwww.
âWhat are you doing?â? I asked. He hesitated for a moment, studying my face before deciding it was safe to tell me.
âThese guhls at school make fun of me. They say I talk like a baby. So I need to pwactice my awws so they donât make fun of me anymoah.â? He went on to tell me that it didnât so much bother him that a bunch of no-nothing girls were making fun of him, but what hurt was the fact that his friends laughed along with them. Those friends who were the recipients of his favorite Pokemón cards because he wanted to give them something special for Christmas? Yes, those friends. So my adorable little boy was determined to come back from Christmas break talking ânot so babyish.â?
The mother in me wants to sit these girls and boys down and say, âOh no you didnât!â? But I realize that that wouldnât end well for anyone, namely Jonah. So itâs on to Plan B. Am I going to talk to the school about speech therapy? Yes, sure. Am I going to make his teacher aware of the teasing? Absolutely. Do I want my son to speak better? In theory, yes. But there is a part of me that shrivels up and dies inside when I think about a Jonah that says READ instead of WEED and RAVEN instead of WAVINâ. Not only is he growing up, but heâs beseeched me to please HELP him gwow up. And I am. I will. I must. But it doesnât mean that I have to like it.
Such a sweet story. Poor little Jonah. I hope he overcomes it when he is good and weady!
Being a fifth grade teacher the “R” sound is one of the most common issues kids have with speech. It will be a thing of the past in no time. The therapist is the key, they will help Jonah retrain his mouth, and all that hard work will pay off!
The teasing, I think is the long road ahead for all of us.
On a related note, a few years ago, I had a pedicure by a woman who still couldn’t pronounce her R’s. I felt saddened that no one ever gave her the opportunity with a speech therapist as a child. =) Denise
I could so relate ti this post! We are done having kids and whenever my youngest reaches a new milestone, I realize I’m not ready!
How wonderful you are to immediatly speak with the school and put him into speech therapy, so many parents out there leave it up to the schools, or will ignore the problem all together hoping it will fix itself!
Good luck and hopefully he will learn so quickly, that you will miss his short lived idiosyncrasy.
Warm Blessing
I have no idea what I’m going to do when my boys get in school…I’ve had a hard enough time with my nearly three year old going to Sunday School without me in tow…Thanks for sharing this sweet story…
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What a sweetie.
And I know I will be sooooooo sad when Declan stops saying “skabetti.”
I have been spending all day making my daughter repeat her super cute “Mac-a-no-cheese”, macaroni and cheese, and I feel your pain at the loss of his sweet baby Rs. He sounds like a great guy and I hope that, along with the R practice, you are teaching him some scathing retorts to say to silly little girls at school.
You guys are the best commenters ever. Thank you so much for your supportive words.
That is a very sweet story, almost as sweet as Jonah sounds! Sorry to hear that he’s being teased — if he lived in Boston he would fit right in
). Jonah obviously has developed a heart of gold before those other kids. The R’s will follow soon enough.
Bless his heart, my little niece Izzy has had the same problems but it is so sweet part of me hates for her to grow out of it. First grade has changed her alot but she still has a little of it. I think his little lingo sounds precious.
oh little kids can be sooo cruel. what a sweet little man you have there. and i totally get not wanting that part of him that makes him HIM to go. but he has forged a new path which you get to help him down. and that’s just a cool as a little speech impediment, dontcha think? you go good mommy!
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