My daughter is starting to speak at 18 months and she has picked up many words recently but she is refusing to acknowledge me. She can say YeYe (Grandfather), Ah Ma (Grandmother), apple, orange, yellow, baba (Daddy), Elmo and can repeat many words after us but she is just refusing to say 'Mama' (Mother) which I'm asking her to call me that. I am so upset and affected because I spent the most time with her. Is she doing this on purpose and does this happen to any other mums?

Lol! No matter how tiny kids are, they have the talent to drive all sorts of emotions out of you. I doubt she would be doing it on purpose, but yes, she may not be liking to follow the instructions. She is outrightly telling you, do not tell me to do this. Or may be she is already addressing you with something that she has formed of herself. As you mentioned he calls, grandfather, YeYe. One cannot make out what YeYe is. Same way, she may be calling you something and since you only expect mom to be called, maama, maa, mommy or any word starting with M. Perhaps, you are missing your name that she is calling you for long now. ;p

i dont think an 18 mth old child will do it on purpose! can she say words that start with the 'm' sound? if she cant, it could be that she is not ready. what about trying this- create opportunities where lo calls for u. ignore lo when she wants u or trying to get ur attention, pretend not to notice- to see if it would motivate her into calling u 'mama' to finally get ur attention. keep trying this for short periods of time (not too long). if at first it does not wrk, pretend to finally notice her and say 'oh you wanted Mama?' and point to yourself. gradually lengthen the time and she will get the idea. hopefully

I suspect your little one is messing with you. You can try this (I'm not sure if it will work, but perhaps no harm trying?): When you are not around, ask your husband to point to the family photos and get your daughter to identify who is in the photo (e.g., Where is daddy? where is yeye? who is this *points to ah ma*? who is this *points to you*?/where is mama?) Just an idea.. Don't fret over this. Once she starts calling you, there may be a day where you wish she is calling for everyone else but you.. ;)

Don't force your toddler. Toddlers are at the age where they hate following instructions. Just leave it. She will call you mama eventually. It's not healthy to develop negative feelings due to this issue. Don't make a big deal out of it. You can constantly refer to yourself as "mama" when answering her so she can link you with the word "mama". For example, you can say something like, "Yes, Mama is here.", "Would you like to play with Mama?"

Maybe that's the reason -- she spends so much time with you so she doesn't need to call or address you verbally as much as the rest? She probably can get your attention through her actions or by just making random sounds. I don't think it's on purpose so don't give up, Mommy. Agree with the mommy above, keep emphasising the use of Mama over and over again. Eventually, there will be a need for her to call you or address you properly :)

dont be upset mummy. my son is the same while i took care of him from birth to 1.5yrs old. he said papa first followed by ah ma, ah gong, and even apple! keep telling him mama but he just refused. haha. dont worry and he suddenly 1 day called mama non stop. so be prepared yr daughter will keep calling you mama as and when she likes and even if there is nothing that she wants or needs :)

Haha.. they do it on purpose. don't show her you are upset. another thing is are you the one teaching her how to say all the ye ye, kor kor Elmo? like my wife had similar encounter where my baby don't want to call her. but slowly because my in laws myself repeat to my baby slowly she started calling. need to make it fun

Don't worry, i nurse my baby to sleep, but my son follow my girl, call "Paaaaa", damm loud to the father. I get nothing too. The only thing i get to hear him say is "neh neh" to when he wan drink neh neh..

thanks