Will I ever stop being mama to become "mommy"? - SpanglishBaby.com

Last week I picked up Enzo at daycare and he ran to me with arms open wide. “Mommy!”  he said. I said no, “Yo soy mama, abuela es mami.”

He started to giggle and pointed his finger at me, “no  mommy.”

Only four months into daycare and Enzo’s English is flourishing. At home, sometimes we hear him playing by himself and he is playing en inglés! His Papa swears English has already become his first language.

Enzo hears his other friends call their parents ”mommy” and “daddy” at daycare and, in the past, I think he thought that was what they were called (i.e. their names!) But now, he understand what mommy and daddy mean. When I arrive I hear him say to his teacher, “my mommy is here.”

I try to picture what our language situation will be as Enzo gets older. Will “quiero agua” be replaced by “I want water” and will he stop saying “te amo” to say “I love you?” (Which, by the way, I do—even if I am speaking to my parents in Spanish, I will end the conversation with “love you bye.”)

I do understand that this is undoubtedly a normal progression, as we live in the United States.

The thing is, I happen to love being called “mama.”  (Not mamá because he says it like that -mama, no accent!) I think it’s sweet.

I hear friends around me speaking in English and still refer to their parents as “Mami” and “Papi” so I’m hopeful that even when he’s older and English is the dominant language, my little boy will always call me mama.

Do you have a word or phrase that you wish your little one will never stop saying en español?

{Photo by GabrielaP93}

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