Daughter Refuses to Say the Word "Milk"

Because she's 2, just learning language, and exercising her independence all at the same time. This is a very big age/time for little people.
My son is 2 and does the same thing with various items.

She'll get it. Just give her some time. Since you know that she knows the difference between milk and juice, I wouldn't worry. Just keep repeating what it is that you're giving her, and eventually she'll come around.

She's playin' ya Dad! LOL

Start calling it something else entirely: moo, moo juice, white stuff, whatever.

I'll bet her teen years are gonna have a little drama! LOL

Mine use to call it mook (rhymes with took). For awhile we called it moo juice. Pronunciation of some words/sounds is tough. She wants you to give her what she wants, not what she asks for. She's got a big future in management.

Maybe she thinks she is not able to say it (properly). My son (who is also 2) usually does not even try to say a word if he thinks it is too difficult and he will not be able to say it. I keep encouraging him to say it, without making a big deal out of it, and sometimes he tries, sometimes he doesn't.

I would encourage her to say the word milk, and use her words instead of getting angry, but not make a big deal out of it if she doesn't say it. If she gets a (positive or negative) reaction from you for not saying it, it may encourage the behavior.

You could also try to teach her the sign for milk, or make up another word instead of milk.

It's always something isn't it!? Sounds like a silly power struggle/stubbornness thing to me. I'm a big fan of not involving myself in their power struggles. If I were you, I would put two different cups in the fridge. One with an orange or apple on it and one with a cow on it (filled accordingly). When she's thirsty offer her the two cups and let it go. She'll eventually get it straight but it sounds like in the meantime you are both going bonkers and she might be getting a little kick out of watching you get your buttons pushed. If you stop caring, she'll probably stop pushing.

Good luck!
T.

MY 2 yr old calls everything water. Instead of pouring something I first show her the pitcher or jug and see what her response is. making the "lk" sound can be difficult and actually does sound funny compared to other sounds. My older kids also did not really use the work "milk" untril they were older. I got them to say white water for milk and at 3 they just started saying it.

hi-
you say that she will say the word milk. does she say the word milk in reference to milk or in general conversation?

if you feel that she is not saying it because she is stubborn (and she HAS related the word /milk/ to milk), then you may want to ignore the behavior. if she throws a fit because she doesn't get milk (gets juice instead) and you give her milk she learns that throwing a tantrum will get her milk. Instead make sure she requests milk in some way before giving it to her (e.g. asking for /milk/ or /moo juice/ or signing milk).

good luck!

she probably cannot say "milk" or very well.
Which is common.
Milk can be a hard word to say, at this age.
Or can she say "Moo"? for cow? ie: milk?
that could be another way for her to say it, until her mouth/tongue coordination can say m-i-l-k.

good luck,
Susan

maybe teach her the sign for milk (baby signing). My daughter (17 months) has trouble saying the word milk, but uses the sign very well. She also uses other signs like more, all done, and eat, but she can say those words better and it isn't as frustrating.

She may just think it is fun to use the sign and then she will forget about the power struggle. Remember to always repeat the word when you or she uses the sign, so she will learn to say it over time.

Don't worry so much if she isn't saying that word, she is still very young.

will she say the word drink for milk??? if you force her to say the word she will rebel more. My son had speech and until i got to the bottom of your post I was thinking milk is just to hard to say. but since she has said it before its not a speech problem but the more you try to force her to say milk the longer its going to take her to be willing to say it. does she by chance go to daycare where juice describes everything? she should just outgrow this.

I agree with the other moms, either give her another word to use in the place of milk or just let it go and don't make it into a power struggle. My parents adopted two little kids when I was a young teen and they went through a phase where they would call all deserts "apple pie". One day my dad had taken them out to eat and they asked for apple pie so my dad told the waitress to bring them ice cream. She argued with him and he finally ended the arguement by pointing out that they were his kids and to bring what he asked. She did and when she set the ice cream on the table they both put their hands to their faces and said "OH! APPLE PIE!" (of course, they would have said the same thing whether it was that or choc cake or whatever!) It may have been a bit frustrating for us all at the time, but it makes for a great family story now! :) I wouldn't worry too much about her refusal to say milk, she'll say it on her own in good time....until then, enjoy the moment and know that when she's older, you'll have a good story to lovingly tease her with!

I like the idea of having 2 sippy cups in the fridge and when she says she's thirsty hold out both to her and say "would you like Juice (moving that one forward) or Milk (moving that one forward) and then let her choose. If she doesn't choose - just put them back in the fridge and ignore... don't get into another power struggle w/ the choice.

If she's said it before she is probably having a power struggle with you.... let it go. There will be much more important things to 'struggle' over!! Good luck!

Is she having trouble remembering the word milk? Some words are hard for kids to remember and not all are the same for each child. My granddaughter asks me over and over what her little dolls names are, sometimes right after she is told. These are names she picked out for them when she got them. Maybe if you say "Moo Milk" it would be funny enough for her to remember the word. It could be as simple as she called it juice long enough that she has to get out of the habit of calling it that. A good example of adults doing that is when we meet someone and hear their name we can associate it with another but wrong name, so each time you got to talk to that person you call him/her by the wrong name until you get that name out of your head. I did this with my new daughter in laws mother who's name is Tracey but I kept calling her Kate for a while. Her husband is John and at the time Jon and Kate plus 8 was going through all that publicity so when I would hear John I would automatically call her Kate. By giving her a silly name for Milk it will be much easier to associate the liquid with the word.

Start picking your battles...lol. She is two, this is one battle I would ignore.

When kids learn to talk they like certain sound patterns. For example words that start with a hard sound 'P' over a soft sound 'S'. So often they will say psgetti instead of spaghetti. (There are other combinations of sound preferences too, but that's the only one I remember from my college child development class.)

'M' is a soft sound that starts the word, so maybe she's shying away from that at this point. It won't last. See if she can come up with her own word for it, like cow juice. Once she has a unique name, that will take the frustration from you for trying to figure out what she really wants.

p.s. I wish more dads would get on the info boards because they contribute a GREAT deal to raising kids too. My hat's off to you.

I believe you have answered your own question already! It most likely is a stubborness issue, and she is testing your limits. She is at that age when she is learning about what she can and cannot do, and you will find that it won't be just about the milk soon enough. I personally would give her juice if she asks for juice, and not ask her if she wants milk. She obviously has a good understanding of language if she is beginning to use full sentences, so you could just tell her that if she wants milk she has to ask for it - and stick to it. Eventually she will understand that if she says "juice" she'll get juice, and if she says "milk" she will get milk. Try to be patient, as this may take a while!
And don't worry about posting because you're not a mom! It's good to see an involved father, too!
Good luck to you!