The Toddler Chronicles, No. 17
My name is Adam. More specifically, my toddler knows my name is Adam.
We went camping a few weeks ago with my cousin and her family. The kids had a blast, and with the bipolar weather, it was the kind of trip best suited for a camper with air conditioning — which, thankfully, both of our families had.
They played cornhole, splashed around in a creek, splashed around in mud puddles at the campsite, splashed around in mud puddles in the road, played Uno Attack, unsuccessfully attempted to divide our family over slime (slime is the worst), and burned a lot of marshmallows.
Gabby and I also learned on this trip that Lyla isn’t afraid of caves, boat tours, or cave tours on a boat. That was exciting.
At some point during the trip, though, Lyla started calling me Adam instead of Dad. We’re still not sure when the switch happened or what provoked it, but something definitely changed on the trip.
Everyone asks, “Well, does Gabby call you Adam? That’s probably where she picked it up…”
Possibly. But Gabby has called me Adam in front of the kids since forever, and Lyla has known for well over a year that my government name is Adam. Until now, she’s only ever rarely said it — usually when copying Gabby’s tone and cadence with her ‘I’m justifiably irritated at Adam’ voice (which is hilarious).
So, we’re still clueless about what inspired the change. For the past several weeks, she has consistently called me Adam, only rarely using Dad or a derivative of it.
We’ll ask, “Lyla, why don’t you say Dad anymore?” and get responses like:
“Because his name is Adam Tyler, and that’s what his name is.”
“Adam’s first name is Dad, but his middle name is Adam, and his middle name is funnier.”
Or the occasional, “Moooom! His name is Adam. Stop asking silly questions.”
So now we’re at a bit of a crossroads: do we draw extra attention to it and try to get her back to calling me Dad, or do we just wait for her to change her mind on her own?
Regardless, here’s what I know right now:
I almost feel like a stepdad or stepdad-adjacent when we’re in public and she says things like, “Adam! Just wait until I tell Mom about ____ when we get home.”
Charlotte is still normal and calls me Dad… for now at least.
