Dudley's development

[cubfanbudwoman]

No: HPFGUIDX 92592

Geoff Bannister wrote:
> > > ..and when Professor McGonagall objects to Harry being brought 
> > > to the Dursleys, she remarks.....
> > > > "And they've got this son - I saw him kicking his mother all 
> > > the way up the street, screaming for sweets."
> > > > (same chapter p.15)
 
Deb:
> > Unless, of course, Aunt Petunia was CARRYING Dudley down the 
> > street so that he was kicking her directly (though, babies 
> > usually start walking around 12 months, so he COULD have been 
> > walking himself)--and who said he had to be yelling in words, to 
> > be screaming for sweets? He could have just been pointing to 
> > some candy his Mom had and, well, screaming! 
 
Geoff:
> Looking at one or two comments made by various posters, folks, 
> this /is/ Mrs.Petunia Dursley, wife of the successful director of 
> an engineering company. She would not be carrying her child down 
> the street. (We were fairly ordinary folk and when our flock were 
> at that age and we were out, they were in pushchairs - too darned 
> heavy to carry for any length of time). Also, I can't see Petunia 
> carrying little Dudley (little did I say?) and a bag of sweets at 
> the same time; it wouldn't be quite the right thing in Privet 
> Drive, now would it?...... Can I remind you of Fiona Shaw's 
> analysis of the Dursleys which I quoted in message 92491?

> If he was in a pushchair, then he wouldn't be in a position to 
> kick Mum.
> 
> Also, on the question of speaking, by about 16 months, our 
> children were possessed of a very small vocabulary, and many words 
> would be quite indistinct.
> 
> I still think there's something odd about young DD.

Susan:
I don't agree, Geoff.  I truly believe that either JKR was just 
having a little fun and not worrying *too much* about gross motor 
skill development in a 16-month-old, or perhaps Petunia was just 
taking Dudders down the street a couple of houses to see a 
neighbor.  

I took my daughter out at that age and let her toddle down the 
sidewalk with me, then picked her up when she couldn't keep up.  I 
think it's really nit-picking to say Mrs. Dursley wouldn't have been 
seen carrying a child.  Why is that "bad"??  

And if we're going to get into that, both my kids had fairly large 
[100 words or more] vocabularies at 16 months.  As someone else 
noted, and as I said rather jokingly, kids learn the words which 
mean the most to them first.  For my daughter, it was "kitty" 
first.  For someone like Dudley, I can imagine its having 
been "treat!" or "candy!" or "GIMME!" or some such thing.  I mean, 
look at the kid when we first meet him at age 11, pitching a fit 
over the number of his b'day gifts, demanding more, and also being 
grossly overweight.  I think Dudders likely learned to express his 
demands early on...and that that was all JKR was doing in sharing 
these episodes with us.  He was a BRAT who screamed at his parents 
to get what he wanted.

For what it's worth, Petunia may care a lot about appearances, but 
the Dursleys still strike me as somewhat gauche.  

Oh--and have you ever *seen* what the "average mum" is capable of 
carrying at one moment?  

Siriusly Snapey Susan