Then one day, as she was walking through the family room, she overheard a cartoon Ben was watching. So she sat Ben down and talked to him about it. This bird isn't talking very nicely, she said. And besides, this is a cartoon, not real life. For you to talk that way isn't appropriate.
Kids are learning to use language, that's their job, but it's a complicated thing.
They need our continual input. The first impulse is often to come down hard on the child right then, set the kid straight. But many times, that just escalates the situation, and you end up in a shouting match. It's better, say therapists, for both of you to take a time-out. If we're in a heated situation, I tell him, 'Stop here.