baby talk
By poppoppop111
@poppoppop111 (5731)
Canada
April 12, 2007 2:06pm CST
did you talk baby talk to your children? i never did. i talked to my dauhter normally. i don't get the using different words for things like baba for bottle and so on. i just don't see why they have to learn that word then have to learn the real word later on. my daughter knew all the real words for everything at a young age. she had no problem learning the real words. it's not like they can't do it. so why do people do the baby talk and the different words for things? i'm just curious your reasoning behing the baby talk
5 people like this
9 responses
@KissThis (3003)
• United States
13 Apr 07
I never used baby talk with my children. I never saw the point. Whenever I spoke to my children I talked to them just like I would anyone else. All three of my children speak well.
I have read articles that tell you that by talking to your children in baby talk thatyou can cause speech a delay.
4 people like this
@carlaabt (3504)
• United States
12 Apr 07
I did a little bit of baby talk when my son was really small. I always used the right words, I just used a higher pitch when I talked to him than I normally would.
It seems like people disagree a lot on which is better for children, but I know that it worked fine for my son. He calls things by the right names for the most part. Some say that it makes it easier for babies to talk earlier, because their voices are so high pitched that that they see more of a correlation when a caregiver uses a high pitch voice. Supposedly, it's more calming to them, too. Then there are others that say it's not good for the baby because they need to learn to speak correctly.
My son is only 14 months old, though, and the only words that he uses incorrectly are words like "Blue" for dog (Because of Blue's Clues) and things like that.
4 people like this
@Foxxee (3651)
• United States
12 Apr 07
I talked baby talk with my kids when they were little, like newborn stage and around 10 months is when I usually stop and just talk normal.
A lot of specialist say that it is actually good to stop the baby talk at a young age before the child is a year old and speak to a child as you speak to another adult. It helps with speach when the child is older and many other things.
Sometimes I catch myself talking babyish to my 15 month old son and then I have to correct myself.
But my kids both speak pretty good, my 15 month old even says a few words pretty clear. He can already say "I love you" well or at least I think it's that. LOL! He might not say that so clear, but pretty dang close.
:)
@ravinskye (8237)
• United States
12 Apr 07
i didn't baby talk my kids either. when my daughter was little we talked normally to her and by 2 years old she was talking at a 5 year old level. i think its good for them to learn the right way to talk.
@smartmom (826)
• United States
12 Apr 07
I have never really talked babytalk to my sons, but I did/do talk to them a lot. Quite a lot in fact, and when we go out shopping I talk to them about everything we see, which have often made people look at me as if I was strange, talking to my baby like this.
@Foxxee (3651)
• United States
12 Apr 07
It's good to carry on a conversation with a baby, even a newborn. From the books I have read, they state that if you talk to your child about everything, like letting the child know everything you see and everything you are doing, it can help with development.
4 people like this
@poppoppop111 (5731)
• Canada
13 Apr 07
yes i've heard this as well. you should always talk about what you are doing and what you can see. this really helps with their development.
3 people like this
@smartmom (826)
• United States
14 Apr 07
I remember seing this somewhere as well, and maybe it has influenced the way that I talk to my children. My children are bilingual (almost tri) as I only speal Danish to them, and My husband speaks English. My mother in law, and my husband's Jamaican side of the family always speaks patois which is the Jamaican language, but it is only recognized as a dialect. It has taken me more than five years to understand some of it though. I have read so much about bilingual children, and I think this is one of the main reasons, why I have avoided baby talk, because I really want my children to get a real sense of the language, as they are being bombarded with all these languages.
My 4 1/2 year old just started speaking in sentences about a year ago, and I was very worried for a time, but now he has really picked up, and he seriously impresses me with some of the words he uses. This I think is in large part due to the fact that I have always talked to him, as I would to other people. Of course, he sometimes asks me about the meaning of a word, or if I see him wondering about what I just said, I will rephrase it, so that it is easier to understand, which in essense gives him the definition of the word.
Well, as you can tell, I have actually put a lot of thought into this language thing :)
2 people like this
@sizzle3000 (3036)
• United States
16 Apr 07
My daughter was an only child so she was aroung adults all the time and we all talked like adults. Heather was using adult phrases all through elemetry. Her teachers were very surprised that she could hold such an interesting conversation with big words. I would never talk baby talk to any child. I was also an only child and my parents never talked baby around me. I think this is part of the reason that my daughter advanced quickly in school. Treat them like intelegent beings and you will see they are.
@coffeeshot (3783)
• Australia
16 Apr 07
I remember reading that the reason that adults talk to babies in high pitched voices is because babies naturally respond better to it, and it's an instinct for us. I don't have any children yet, but when I do I will take the professional's advice and probably speak to my child normally. I want to give my child the best opporunity at intelligence that I can.
@suspendedindusk03 (319)
• United States
14 Apr 07
I've never babytalked my son and, like smartmom, I have always talked to my son a lot. I can certainly identify with her example of talking to her child throughout the grocery store. I've done this with my son a lot too. He is almost three years old and he speaks as plainly as a five year old.
3 people like this
