My son is 3 months old and I just love him to death! I stay home with him and find myself singing stupid little songs to him and saying things to him in “baby talk”. LOL. Do you do this? Do you think it could affect him and he will learn to talk in a silly voice or something?
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i think silly voices are fun sometimes, but real talk helps children learn how to speak
Children do not need baby talk to learn to speak, but it’s not going to harm him. He is just going to love the sound of your voice, no matter how silly an adult thinks it sounds. If this is how you show him attention, do it! You can’t spoil a baby, no matter what anyone tells you.
I’ve never really talked to Noah in “baby talk”. Nothing against it and I doubt it will affect your son later on(because, lets face it, I doubt you’ll continue this past the age of one!), but it’s just not something I do.
I was guilty of asking him if he wanted his “baba” when he was on a bottle and I still ask him if he wants some “milky”.
Its fine anfd comes natural, but soon you may want to start saying things in a more clearer form so he can pick up the correct language. You dont have to stop with the silly voices though.
I usually try not to speak to my daughter so much in baby talk, but I do catch myself doing it from time to time. The worse thing I do is sing these silly songs I make up for EVERYTHING!… I must drive her insane… too bad she can’t tell me to shut up!
No. The children actually understand more when you talk in their type of language. Babies are very smart for their age. There is nothing that’s going to affect him in the future, it’s all in everyone’s head. I helped raise my ex-fiancee’s child, and she turned out perfect.
Babies learn by mimicking those around them. Talking in baby talk allows him to hear many different types of sounds. Communicating with him at all will help him learn to talk. It is much better to talk to him in baby talk than not at all. He will hear “adult talk” so much that talking to him in baby talk will not hinder his development. Sing as many silly songs as you like!
I wouldn’t say that baby talk is bad however talking to them in the language that they would later develop can be very helpful since they will learn from what is being taught to them specially from parents, I suggest that baby talk be left out. I have 2 yr. old nieces, twins and from birth baby talk wasn’t aloud.
Right now I think it’s fine. My sister in law was totally against baby talk as well (she’s a teacher), but now that she’s given birth, she can’t help herself!
We don’t use stupid words to replace real words (like bah-bah instead of bottle). We speak real English.
But somehow when you talk to the little guy, you can’t help your voice going up a few octaves! LOL
it’s called motherese. it’s really not bad the child. just mix it up a bit.
and when you are talking to your child, make sure that you include conversational pauses. so when you ask a question pause for 2 seconds to leave time where you child would answer. of course your baby won’t answer, but you will be laying down the foundation for future pragmatic skills that will allow your baby to be successful in life.
check out the link for more motherese info
I used to do that too, but as long as you talk to them in grown up talk then your alright, its hard to resist!
well i hope you love him. geez.
no, he is only 3 months!!
Babytalk is natural. ALL mothers in ALL cultures do it. Babies seem to respond to the sort of high pitched ’sing-song’ rhythm, and the simplified grammar and sentence structure makes it easier for them to learn to talk.
Of course there is ‘baby-talk’ and there’s ‘baby-talk.’ “Look at the doggie!” is fine. “Oooohhh… widdle biddy babykins! Wook at the cutesy-wootsie puppie-doggie!” is quite another.
ok so my mom used to do this to me and sometimes she still goes around singing stupid songs to the dog…But i find now that i have a daughter i do it to. Like today for example i was getting her Banana’s for lunch that were in the fridge and she was in the living room and i was singing acroos the house, “Getting the Naners for to eat..Its lunch time” why i have no idea but i just did. My hubby7 and dad look at me like im stupid and tell me to talk normal but whatever it makes her laugh.
If you feel comfortable with baby talk, then that’s great.
It doesn’t matter how you talk to your baby, just as long as you do talk to him.
It is a myth that using baby talk makes a baby talk funny when he grows up.
I do that, too. The songs change as baby grows. It somehow happens automatically. It is considered helpful for baby’s language development. My best friend who works as language therapist in a kindergarden employs baby talk on purpose to stimulate small children to babble. So trust your instincts and be silly.
It wont affect him- baby talk is perfectly fine. its fun though to see their faces when you fluctuate your voice, like go normal talking then baby talk and back and forth within the same sentence- try it its hilarious!
It’s okay to do sometimes and it’s a lot of fun to make up silly songs to sing for your baby but using baby talk consistently can lead to problems. Your baby may grow up thinking that the word for bottle is “baawaa” or what ever, you know? We use it sometimes but for the most part, we stick to the language we use around adults.
All mothers with babies, no matter what language they speak, do this with their kids – it’s an actual language called Motherese that helps the baby develop his or her own language and communication skills. It’s good for the baby! Motherese in all different cultures is sing-songy and usually higher pitched and more basic than our “normal” language. Babies use this as a model for communicating themselves when they develop their speech.
my daughter is 2 months and i do the same thing. i read that you should repeat what they say to you and have a “conversation” its good for them and i don’t think it will have any bad effects on him at all. i read that’s its good to communicate with them, and even though they wont actually say words for a while yet, tell him to say mama or dada anyways!
The research actually shows that “baby talk” that involves real words is more beneficial to babies’ language learning than is talking in a normal voice. You shouldn’t be making random “goo-goo, gaa-gaa” sounds, but raising the pitch of your voice attracts the baby’s attention and using short simple phrases aids in their comprehension and they learn the meaning of words more quickly.
However, the key is to speak in grammatically correct ways and use real words. Don’t say things like “Her’s so cute, yes her is” (the Sears photographer does that and it drives me NUTS). Use correct speech and the child will learn that, and will be less likely to speak in “baby talk” ways.
Silly songs are good for his language development. Keep making them up and keep singing them. As for the baby talk, using a high pitched voice is fine but “goo-goo gaga” isn’t necessary. Just talk to him using the same words you use with someone who talks back. That is how he learns to talk with you.
I talk to my son a lot. I tell him what I’m doing, ask him what he’s doing, tell him where we’re going, etc. Babies learn to talk by hearing people talk.