Scientific Method

Question for the day: Can The Girl recognize her own name?

“Oh, absolutely, ” I said, supremely confident in the knowledge that she’s been responding to my calls all week. But the Smart Parent , without expressing any doubt, began testing the theory.

The initial trial was high-pitched, and forceful. “Ella!” It elicited a quick turn and smile from The Girl. And a huge, gloaty grin from me. But the subsequent efforts with a quieter call received no response. With, like, eight repetitions. The Smug Parent was starting to sweat.

Then, a ‘Mike!’, ‘Stacy!’, ‘Mama!’, and ‘Daddy!’ all got quick responses. Other names she answered to included ‘couch!’, ‘red!’, ‘James Brown!, and ‘tractor!’.