Little kids are funny. They’re little sponges that soak up their surroundings and start mimicking the people they’re around.
It makes sense, of course. Kids who are learning to talk…well, talk like the people they’re around or the things they’re watching/listening to. You can learn a lot about how a kid’s parents speak and act just by listening to and watching the kids. Big heavy sighs with hands on hips means at least one of the parents probably has a flair for the dramatic. Others lean pretty heavily on a particular word (“basically,” “apparently,” etc.).
Our youngest daughter, when she was still early in her speaking ability, spoke a little slower and softer than her siblings. It was fun to take the time to listen to her though, because she’d use words kids her age normally didn’t. It was funny to hear this little girl, probably two or three years old, using big words for her age and slowly and deliberately saying things like “akshilly” and “not ness-a-cera-lee” (“actually” and “not necessarily”).
Years later I told this story to a coworker who had young kids. It turns out he and his wife had already taken it a step further. Their family lived out in the countryside where there weren’t many neighbors (and even fewer neighbors with kids that age). The parents were the kids’ main source of observing language in action. He and his wife would deliberately use words/phrases that aren’t normally found in everyday speech, just to see if their kids would start incorporating it into their vernacular. His question was answered when one day his son came inside and excitedly said something like “Daddy! We were down at the creek playing, and I picked up a rock, and lo and behold, there was a salamander underneath it!”
It’s a fun little story, but it’s important to remember that growing older doesn’t mean we graduate from being influenced by the things we surround ourselves with or immerse ourselves in. Whether consciously or not, those influences are changing what we are now, and shaping us into what we’re becoming. Your life moves in the direction of your strongest thoughts. Make sure the things you’re thinking about are worth dedicating your life to, because that’s ultimately what you’re moving toward.
Maybe it’s time to stop and consider: what are the top three things your mind spends time thinking about?