The Importance of Talking Baby Talk to your Baby

[mnieto 2]

When I was a kid I had the tendency to mix German and Croatian

So is that like greeting someone like this:

Kako gehts? or Vie ste?

It sounded somewhat like that!

Most of the times I'd take a German verb and would ad the female Croatian ending to it... .... like " Ja sam fernsehen-ovala" ( German-Croatian mix-up version for " I watched TV" ) ....awful.

It used to drive my Dad just crazy, he used to say that this was one of the most illiterate things somebody could do.

Now I know what he meant!

Edited April 25, 2008 by mnieto

[mawilson 2,133]

As a father of four, I never spoke a word of "baby talk". All my children's school instructors were impressed with the amount of words my children knew when they entered school. My oldest daughter now has two children and she doesn't do it either. I save the "baby talk" for domesticated animals!

[sara535 15]

I dont think its the words as much as the tone and as they get older the eye contact that babies respond to. I talk all day to my baby in regular sentences and vocabulary but I talk in a sing song voice or sometimes sing. Actually I often sing the words but to a common tune, I find myself singing lots of 'conversations' to the tune of various Christmas carols. I guess those are the simple melodies I have committed most readily to memory. For example, I might have a whole song about changing diapers/clothes to the tune of Jingle Bells that I am improvising while doing the activity. I make sure to look her in the eye a lot and she loves it, usually laughs and flails her limbs around... I am sure if anyone else were to witness any of it I would look like an idiot but oh well

[one...two...tree 2,762]

I didn't do the baby talk thing too much, but I did try to understand the things my son said that werne't readily understandable. The most intersting word he 'made up' was 'gubby' which he used for bottle. For a while I was non plussed, what had 'gubby' and 'bottle' in common? Finally, the light dawned. Whenever I gave him a drink in the bottle I would give it to him and say 'good boy' (for the life of me I don't know why now) so 'gubby' was a corruption of 'good boy'.

My baby grunts, but I know he's trying to talk to me...his face gets very animated and he gets excited, so I reaffirm whatever he's trying to tell me like I'm having a conversation with a mute. It's very cute. I think he's going to be really smart...must have got it from his mom.

Is that grunt as in... "GRUNT :: Get me my bottle... or GRUNT:: Get me my beer bottle..." ???

Male practice

This was a few weeks ago...his vocabulary now includes more grunts.

[Marilyn. 340]

I hate people who talk down to kids like they are stupid or something.... I knew this lady who was a nanny and she would always do that, she would be very condescending to them...

I don't necessarily talk to kids like they are adults but I try and talk to them like what they have to say matters .....

dang, I can't explain it properly

[Cassie 8]

One: Joshua is too cute for words!

Two: In that whole video I didn't hear a word of baby talk

Three: deliberately talking to a child in baby talk drives me nuts.

[✿Ice Rain✿ 0]

i baby talk my husband , lol. But talking about the real essence of "baby talk" to kids, i don't i like the idea of it, sounds like i am making "uto" (or maybe in English it's called "spoil", or somebody please give me the correct English for "uto" ) the child. Or maybe i am just saying this now. But let's see when i have a "baby" already.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

I hate people who talk down to kids like they are stupid or something.... I knew this lady who was a nanny and she would always do that, she would be very condescending to them...

I don't necessarily talk to kids like they are adults but I try and talk to them like what they have to say matters .....

dang, I can't explain it properly

My first go around in parenting, I thought the same thing...so I would try to give my children logical and rational explanations for whatever questions they ask, but quickly found out that that only leads to more questions. For example, Job, who recently turned 7, would ask me how the baby is going to come out of his momma.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

One: Joshua is too cute for words!

Two: In that whole video I didn't hear a word of baby talk

Three: deliberately talking to a child in baby talk drives me nuts.

Thank you, Cassie.

Ah, maybe I have a different understanding of what baby talk is....I thought it includes talking to baby with lots of voice inflections. I'll sometimes use nonsensical words and phrases.

[Peikko 1,575]

I hate people who talk down to kids like they are stupid or something.... I knew this lady who was a nanny and she would always do that, she would be very condescending to them...

I don't necessarily talk to kids like they are adults but I try and talk to them like what they have to say matters .....

dang, I can't explain it properly

My first go around in parenting, I thought the same thing...so I would try to give my children logical and rational explanations for whatever questions they ask, but quickly found out that that only leads to more questions. For example, Job, who recently turned 7, would ask me how the baby is going to come out of his momma.

Ah, the thorny knot that is how to give children answers that satisfy their curiosity and are reasonably factual but don't give them information they aren't ready for.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

I hate people who talk down to kids like they are stupid or something.... I knew this lady who was a nanny and she would always do that, she would be very condescending to them...

I don't necessarily talk to kids like they are adults but I try and talk to them like what they have to say matters .....

dang, I can't explain it properly

My first go around in parenting, I thought the same thing...so I would try to give my children logical and rational explanations for whatever questions they ask, but quickly found out that that only leads to more questions. For example, Job, who recently turned 7, would ask me how the baby is going to come out of his momma.

Ah, the thorny knot that is how to give children answers that satisfy their curiosity and are reasonably factual but don't give them information they aren't ready for.

Yep. ...and you certainly don't want to lie to your kids or have them believe later on that you were dishonest with them about a lot of things. Children's brains are quite different from adults...as a parent, it helps to realize that. Sometimes a more simpler explanation which remains truthful is the best way.

[Marilyn. 340]

I am not saying we need to tell our kids everything but we shouldn't treat them like they are stupid either....

you would have to see this lady I am talking about in action to understand what I am talking about

[Bootylicious!! 2]

I have 2 nephews and a niece that if you had spoke baby talk to them they would have said, "Why in the heck are you talking like that?" We always talked to them just like we talk to other adults. The 9 yr old is on a 6th grade reading level, the 7 yr old is on a 4th grade reading level, and the 5 yr old is just in pre-k and can already read. I try to save my baby talk for my wittle bitty Daisy waisy(my shih tzu).

[eau_xplain 2]

Steven and Jinky, that video of Joshua is just so precious! It reminds me of when my son was still a baby. I always talked to him (in regular adult words) whenever I was around him...feeding, bathing, changing diapers. I remember he'd stare at the movements of my mouth and he'd be working his tongue and mouth as if he wanted to talk too. Too cute!!

Edited April 25, 2008 by eau_xplain

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Steven and Jinky, that video of Joshua is just so precious! It reminds me of when my son was still a baby. I always talked to him (in regular adult words) whenever I was around him...feeding, bathing, changing diapers. I remember he'd stare at the movements of my mouth and he'd be working his tongue and mouth as if he wanted to talk too. Too cute!!

Thank you, Xenia. Jinky is always talking to him in normal words, but she say he only likes to talk back to me. His face is like rubber...very expressive.