To correct ds when he fails to pronounce the t in water, butter etc?

[PollyParanoia]

I just don't know if I'm a snob or a pedant or completely reasonable to find ds aged 5 and his missing Ts in the middle of words really irritating. Typical sentence will be:
"I've lost the bu'on in the wa'er, I'll le'er ge'it for me as she's be'er at swimming."
I correct him and I don't know if that's really bad for his self-expression and a one-way ticket to a therapist in 20 years time. And I don't know whether I'm correcting him because it's sounds common or because it's incorrect. I tell myself that it's because he won't learn to spell properly as he won't be able to sound out words (or le'ers), but am worried I do it in fact because I speak with an RP accent and he goes to an inner city school.
And I don't know whether he does it because it's an "accent" or whether he's just v lazy (which he has always been, speech wise). It might be that it's actually part of a lovely London regional accent that should be nurtured like Geordie.
Am I like horrible parents who used to pay for elocution lessons?

Just as an aside, I read the biography of James Herriot, the Yorkshire vet. (real name Alf Wight, sorry, you didn't want to know that did you).

Anyway he paid for both his kids to have private education and elocution lessons as he was terrified they'd grow up speaking Yorkshire.

That did surprise me I must say.

Morris - I don't think it is surprising; I think it is just part of how that generation did things. I wish they would put James Herriot back on tv though.

It is, Milly - Freeview Channel 12 (Yesterday) at 4pm!

My children (13 and 8) are completely trilingual - posh at home, Kentish/Esturine at school and Yorkshire with their grandma and cousins. I always used to correct the Kentish at home but not outside - they needed to develop the protective colouration. They quickly learned to switch dialects appropriately.

I think it's a good thing for children to be able to speak both "proper" and "local". Imho, it's harder to learn to speak "proper" later in life, but it's quite easy to drop back into an accent wherever appropriate. My experience, anyway.

Oh, I like "protective colouration", seeker!

I always fancied Tristan.

Sigh.

Did you like him in Dr Who, Morris?

Yes, but country vet beats timelord in my book.

Really, Morris? Personally I found Tristan annoying and would have gone for James.

I felt that James was a bit too focused on women's cooking skills, whereas Tristan was more of a good time guy.

I can't make apple pie

I correct it every time and make fun of it-it is important that they know the correct form-however I accept that they won't do it with friends.

I correct because it drives me mad! Our local regional and much laughed at, nationally, accent, I am fine with, but wa'er, po''y, bu''er... I hate. I correct patiently, and praise it said right. But maybe I too am turning into my mother (tho she hates my local scouse!)

I correct glottal stops and lazy pronunciation. I also correct grammar. I have no problem at all with an accent, or dialect words. As I am slightly deaf, DS has learned to speak up and articulate clearly or I don't respond... Pity, really!

no o ne likes a nag

"I correct it every time and make fun of it"

In a nice way clemette! We all laugh about it-they do it to wind me up in the first place-they are quite capable of saying it properly.

lol - I thought it sounded unusually harsh.

They know that I would never call a DD, if I were to have one, Natalie! It sounds dreadful without the t.

DH has banned me from calling the new cat Agatha becuase he is terrifed of DD calling it Agafa!

I was completely put off the name Timothy for the same reason!