Baby talk: Some families incorporate it into their permanent vocabulary

She advises parents to use the correct word when teaching but to accept the incorrect word during the process.

Young mouths — from babies making sounds at 6 months to producing full words at 18 months — may not even be capable of producing all the sounds for a word, she said.

She also has learned through her work with 4- and 5-year-olds that when a child is saying a word incorrectly, he or she actually hears the word as if saying it correctly.

And mouths develop words slowly and differently. Often words with "M," "B," "P" or "D" develop first, which is why a child may use those sounds first.

Whatever words your family uses behind closed doors, Casteix wants to encourage talking among young children and parents.

"Talking is wonderful. . . . You know your child is learning, listening and starting to engage in her world. Language is a gift."

Below are some baby talk "gifts" from readers, edited for length.

'chippies'

I would always ask the little ones and grandchildren who came to our house, "Do you want some 'chippies?' " (potato chips)

— Jeanne Bethel

'Piltows'

When our family of four sat down to dinner, occasionally we would have a favorite . . . "hangerburs." Later in the evening, daughter Amy (now 37) and son Tolly (now 35) took their "bathtubs" and then laid their little heads down on their "piltows." Hopefully they would not have bad dreams involving "The Phantom of Theopula!"To this day, we (well, mostly I) still use these terms.

— Patty Lyons

'Yanna'

As a toddler, my niece either couldn't or wouldn't say my name (Aunt Diane). She began at a very early age to call me "Yanna" right after "Dada" and "Mama." Though she is extremely smart, she has never called me anything but "Yanna." As a matter of fact, her entire family calls me Yanna to this day, and my niece is now 19 years old and a student at the University of Arizona.

— Diane Ruble

'Gargarth'

Forty-plus years ago, our babies brought us wonderful words, still in use today. For example, if you were an overnight guest in our home, we would be certain that you were provided with a "tarlow and a gargarth," meaning a towel and a washcloth. We would also be sure you had a "mazazine" to read. 

— Carolyn Gaines

'Ah-SHum'

Whenever we go to the store we have to make sure we pick up some "ah-shum" for our daughter, who is now a UA freshman. On those weekends that she comes home, it is one of the first things she looks for. Though ah-shum comes in a dizzying array of flavors; vanilla is first, followed closely by coffee. Look for ah-shum in your grocer's freezer; it's right in there with the ice cream!

— Phil Levere

'Fruit cottontail'

I am a mother of five and grandma of 16; we have many unique words and phrases in our family. Some of my favorites are: apple (elbow); tummy bell (navel); fruit cottontail (fruit cocktail); pinnocliars (binoculars); and didderdee (DVD).

— Jane Au

My youngest sister had a small daughter that another sister took care of during the day. Jeanette (the caretaker) and her family were moving to another state because of her husband's job transfer. She was very upset that she had to leave Marla, as she had taken care of her for some three years and was extremely attached to her. She was packing dishes and getting ready for the move and cried a bit and sighed some, too. Marla asked "Aunt Neenie" what the matter was, and Jeanette replied that she was very emotionally overwrought because she and her family had to move away and leave Marla and her mother.

When Larrie (the mother) came home from work and picked up her daughter (Marla) to take her home, Marla went around their house sighing and crossing her arms and acting upset. Larrie asked her what on Earth was the matter, and Marla replied that she was very "moshe wrot" because Aunt Neenie, Uncle Wallace and cousin Laurel had to move away!

From then on, whenever an upsetting event has occurred in our family or in our friends' families (whom we told about the incident), we all say we are "moshe wrot!"

— Carla Denison

When my daughter, Amanda, was little (she's now 18), she made up a word: ockadeedee.

She called everyone and everything this word. We would tell her stories such as, "There was a little girl, and her name was . . ." Amanda would say ockadeedee. "She went to the store to by some. . . ." Amanda would say ockadeedee. 

When Amanda would see something she liked, she would say ockadeedee. She would also use it when she was mad and scream it at everyone. She used this word for at least five years. My husband and I vowed to ask her what it meant when she grew up. Years passed, and one day we asked her what it meant. She had no idea, but remembered that she said it when she was mad. She taught her friends at Tucson High ockadeedee, and now they all use it instead of other curse words.

— Deb Weiss

We made a point of not talking baby talk to our son when he was born, but we did have "family words." The one that stuck around our house is "breckies," our family's word for breakfast. We still eat "breckies" and still enjoy going out for "breckies" on Saturday morning, even though our son is now 14 years old.

— Anna Harrison Griessel

One night, I was putting our toddler son to bed, but he didn't want to go to bed yet. He kept saying "Athith" over and over again. I couldn't understand what he meant. So, I took him out of the crib and told him to show me. He went through our master bedroom, where my husband was lying in bed. I mouthed the word to him, "Athith," with a questioning look on my face and my arms in the air. Meanwhile, I kept following our son to the bathroom where he grabbed his toothbrush and said, "Athith!" with the hand motion of brushing his teeth. Now I understand. Our son eventually learned to use good English, but my husband thought that it was cute and used that word to annoy me whenever I asked him a question that he couldn't answer. Or to say "Athith" instead of "good morning" or whatnot. It has been 26 years, and that word is stuck with us still.

— William and Alice Kerastas