Saturday, June 19, 2010

What's In A Name?

From the time they start talking, kids seem to have a language all their own. Mine are no exception. Many of the names given to things are based on their function or what can be found in them. It makes sense to us simply because we are around it all the time. We get accustomed to hearing certain names and phrases, eventually even finding ourselves using them.

Some examples:
  • Floppy Buns - Chick-fil-a (don't ask, we have no idea.)
  • Ackdonalds - Mickey D's
  • Taco House - Taco Bell
  • Hamburger House - Burger King
  • The Circle Store - Target
  • The Mommy Store - Old Navy, Ann Taylor, Motherhood, etc (anywhere that has women's clothes and/or no toys)
  • Money House - Bank (further differentiated as "Mommy's" or "Daddy's")
  • Big Car & Little Car - the family SUV vs the smaller second car
  • BBQ House - Papaw's Catering Trailer (guess what he caters?)
  • Apple Juice Slush - Sonic (hmm ... wonder what we order here?)

As you can see, most of the names make perfect sense ... no matter what your age. However, if you aren't familiar with the language it could present a bit of a learning curve initially. Because of this, Daddy has set about trying to make a point of using the correct names. Last week we were at Burger King - gotta love the indoor playgrounds when the outside temp is hovering at 100.

The conversation went something like this:
Diva: "I like the Hamburger House playground."
Daddy: "Hamburger House's name is Burger King."
Diva: "No, it's Hamburger House!"
*this went back and forth several times before he gave up*

Later that evening:
Diva: "Momma, can we go back to King Booger the next day?"
Momma: "Where?"
Diva: "King Booger. I wanna go on the big slide!"
Momma: "Mmm ... go ask your Daddy."
Diva: "Daddy, can we go to King Booger the next day and play on the playground."
Daddy: "Where?"
Diva: "King Booger!"
Momma to Daddy: "So, was Hamburger House really so bad?

We haven't worked on the "proper" name for anything since then.