An interesting anecdote: Teresa took Elena shopping today. Elena tends to indulge in a running commentary on whatever catches her eye in her surroundings; since she's three years old, her commentary is somewhat... unfiltered. As an example, she'll loudly label interesting or odd things or people as "funny looking," which can teeter on the edge of amusing, but usually more towards being a little embarassing, as in FUNNY LOOKING PANTS! FUNNY LOOKING CHIN! FUNNY LOOKING MUSTACHE! etc...
Today at the store, she startled both a rather distinguished looking African-American gentleman, and a Sikh with a large turban by pointing and calling them "DADA." This is not a new thing. Any random guy that she notices in her perambulations may be called DADA, even though there may be few discernable similarities (besides pants) to her "Official Dada".
That might seem like a troublesome indicator, but I think it's really more a problem of definitions, as well as a window onto Elena's history. There are no men working at the orphanage, so the only time the kids see a male face is when someone visits, wanting to adopt a child. The first time we visited the orphanage, for example Elena's friend Anna kept pointing and labelling me a "dada"--an experience shared by other potential dadas. Women might fall into more than one category, but all men are dadas, even if they aren't THE official dada.
Elena knows the difference between random men and her "Official Dada" (that would be me), I'm sure, but her internal definition of the word hasn't yet caught up.
Update, 7/7: We had a few discussions with Elena about this, pointing out the potential social awkwardness of her off-the-cuff verbal commentary. Really, "discussion" is a bit strong of a word, because how much explanation of "the potential social awkwardness of her off-the-cuff verbal commentary" is going to sink into a three-year-old's brain, anyway? Still, something seems to have sunk in, because now she's pointing out random guys and calling them "NOT DADA."
Today at the store, she startled both a rather distinguished looking African-American gentleman, and a Sikh with a large turban by pointing and calling them "DADA." This is not a new thing. Any random guy that she notices in her perambulations may be called DADA, even though there may be few discernable similarities (besides pants) to her "Official Dada".
That might seem like a troublesome indicator, but I think it's really more a problem of definitions, as well as a window onto Elena's history. There are no men working at the orphanage, so the only time the kids see a male face is when someone visits, wanting to adopt a child. The first time we visited the orphanage, for example Elena's friend Anna kept pointing and labelling me a "dada"--an experience shared by other potential dadas. Women might fall into more than one category, but all men are dadas, even if they aren't THE official dada.
Elena knows the difference between random men and her "Official Dada" (that would be me), I'm sure, but her internal definition of the word hasn't yet caught up.
Update, 7/7: We had a few discussions with Elena about this, pointing out the potential social awkwardness of her off-the-cuff verbal commentary. Really, "discussion" is a bit strong of a word, because how much explanation of "the potential social awkwardness of her off-the-cuff verbal commentary" is going to sink into a three-year-old's brain, anyway? Still, something seems to have sunk in, because now she's pointing out random guys and calling them "NOT DADA."
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