Tag Archives: infant speech

The Hana Chronicles: Month 6, Day 3

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Posted by on in children, collaborating, Community, Family, Matters of Faith, Personal Values, service, Social, Spiritual, Striving

June 24, 2026- “I love” is the sweetest phrase, especially coming from a six-month old. I don’t expect my granddaughter to speak, but she does so and from her heart. Many times, Hana us repeating what she has heard us say, over and over. Sometimes, as with the comment, two days ago, about the beef, she speaks as her brain has told her, perhaps from having heard others speak, here and there. Her words of love, though, are definitely a reflection of how each of us feels about her. When she said it, this afternoon, it made my day.

I have a new role in my Faith community: Moderating consultation during our Sector’s (neighbourhood group’s) Spiritual Feasts. Tonight was my first time doing this, and I felt it crucial to ask for people to translate from English to Persian, at several points, as 98% of the group is Persian-speaking, and not all of these folks are fluent in English. It is Baha’i practice to provide believers with translation into their preferred language, and not to demand that they learn English for the convenience of native speakers of English. People should learn a language for their own progress or convenience, not for that of others.

Hana is being raised speaking English and Korean. I am also introducing numbers and a few key phrases in French and Spanish also. I have heard her speak English, here and there. She probably speaks a few Korean words to her mother. One needs to listen carefully, though, to the soft, high-pitched voice. As I said earlier, her words tend to come from the heart.

There is much to be learned from a little one, though, in discerning what matters most.

The Hana Chronicles: Month 5, Day 10

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Posted by on in children, collaborating, Family, Personal Values, Striving

May 31, 2026- Hana’s two bottom incisors, the “front teeth”, are out from under her gums. Her Dad was the first to do the honours of “brushing” them with a soft cloth, this morning. Her parents find that all the other milk teeth (“baby teeth”) are under her gums. They will appear right on schedule, it seems. The process this time was fairly quick, in terms of the discomfort she felt. She likes her yellow teething ring and would massage the eruption area with her fingers, when it got too uncomfortable.

In another month, we should see the two top incisors, with all the rest coming in by the time she reaches the age of two. If the first eruption is any indication, Hana will call attention to the arriving teeth and try to provide her own soothing, while gratefully accepting comfort from her grown-ups.

She is very chatty, and among other things, will hold her cloth book that features a few zoo animals and begin talking aloud about what she sees. This is her mimicking our read alouds, of course, but we acknowledge her efforts and show that we take her speech seriously. She is also eating pureed foods-having taken some rice porridge, zucchini and sweet potato, thus far. The last one is her favourite. She is relatively neat about it, and tries to hold her own spoon, with some success. I will need to help her practice that skill, this coming week.

With both parents having to go into their employers’ offices, five days a week, I will shoulder a large part of her upbringing, over the next year or two. So, many milestones will be chronicled here. It is probably going to be the most enjoyable job I’ve ever had.

Clear Voices

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Posted by on in children, collaborating, Community, Family, impediments, Personal Values, Social, Spiritual, Striving

March 28, 2026- Millions of people spoke their peace today. I noted at least 300. here in Plano. My attention was directed towards family, especially my granddaughter, so I limited myself to driving past the gathered crowd and honking in support, because…..enough has been enough for some time, Clear voices matter, for the simple fact that without them, there is no direction. There has been a cacophony, that seems to change with the wind, and only the loudest, most impatient of voices among those currently making policy have been prevailing.

This is not a matter of liberalism vs. conservatism. No serious voice is seeking to shush conservative points of view. No serious voice should be seeking to silence liberals. In creating a coin, the idea of it having one side is ludicrous. In raising a family, two parents are always going to meet with more success than a single caregiver. There will be a solution to a problem, but it can’t come from an authoritarian source. Some point to Hungary, under Viktor Orban and his Fidesz Party, as a conservative society that works. Apparently, that is not going as well as has been claimed-and there is a very competitive election campaign going on in that country right now. We shall see.

Hana has been quite vocal, of late. Some of her utterances are quite clear, and germane to the situation at hand. Other times, she is babbling, albeit in earnest. She is not likely one who will hold back. Her grandmother would be proud of her. I certainly am, and will ever encourage her speaking out, though taking time to think before she speaks. Her father was expected to speak his mind, after processing information. That led to some conflict with an older relative who had a rather Victorian mindset, but no matter. Keeping children in the background never uniformly worked well. Intelligent young people have ever needed to be directed, not quashed.

So, today, and for quite some time to come, we face a period of transition, from the primacy of a favoured few to a broader-based gathering of the minds and hearts. There will, in the end of it all, not be a patriarchy, or a matriarchy, but, as Marianne Williamson wrote today-a fraternity, or whatever one wants to call a gathering of siblings. Keep speaking your truth.