No baby talk for my Child?

Question

My wife and I decided to Never speak to our child like a baby..ya know like cute baby voices...we speak only in regular words and we speak to our son as a normal person. But how do we get our family to respect our wishes of No baby talk? They think that we are being crazy but we just feel that there is no need to talk to a baby ...like a baby..infact we plan on raising our son in a more socially unorthadox kinda way but we feel that it will be better in the long run. any advice?

When I say socially unorthadox I don't mean a cult, I mean Against the grain of regular parenting...for ex...I refuse to let my kids sit in front of a TV for hours...most parents use that as a babysitter, also my child will read books at a higher learning level..When I was younger my parents started me off with harder books then Curious George...I just feel that the best way to educate a child is to do it from the start...There are too many stupid kids out there these days and its all a result of how you begin to raise them.

Answer 1

My parents Didn't baby talk me...And They didn't read childish books to me nor allow me to watch childish television shows...Now im a sociopath..haha...Lighten up dude...have fun..don't worry about it.

Answer 2

We have raised our daughter the same way. We never talked baby talk to her at all. However, getting family to understand wasn't a problem for us. Kids that are spoken to clearly, learn to talk earlier and much clearer. Our daughter was reading by the time she entered Kindergarten. You should be praised for not falling victim to some of today's lessening parenting skills. Unfortunately, I have no help with the relatives since that wasn't an issue for us. However, I don't think the family using baby talk will flaw the way you're raising the child. That is, unless the baby sees alot of these relatives. Tell them what your wishes are, but know that grandparents especially live for the chance to spoil the grandkids. If they can't understand or refuse to, you can always limit the contact the baby has with them. I will reiterate, don't deny the grandparents their chance to spoil though.

Good luck!!

Answer 3

I agree on the baby talk. I wouldn't worry about other people as you cannot stop them but your child will be mostly influenced by you. But i feel for the poor child if he can not live up to your expectations. Read at a higher level. What if he doesn't grasp reading easily or has a learning difficulty. Easy books are a great way to start as there is no pressure and makes reading enjoyable. Mine started on easy books and now read way above the expected level. Better to be easy to read enjoyable books than hard books that make your child hate reading

Answer 4

Mix it up, do both. We talk adult to our 2 year old most of the time but sometime we like to goof off and talk babytalk with him (by this I mean using a fake high piched voice). It's fun for him and fun for us - don't be afraid to be goofy sometimes, it won't destroy him. Let your relatives have fun with him, too. Just remember to always pronounce things correctly but do not correct him.
Ditto patweb - What do you mean by socially unorthodox?
And about the answer below - do not 'discipline adults regarding this issue, especially in front of your child. This does not teach respect any more that those who ignore your wishes are.

edited to add: I wouldn't call that unorthodox, especially the TV issue. But just remember not to push your kids too far too soon like with the reading. There is nothing wrong with starting with the basics and letting them be kids. My brother in law did that with his sons. He got so excited about his oldest child's math skills that he started teaching him long division in when he was in second grade. He was doing great - caught on to the division very well. But then his report card came home and he was failing his math skills. He was concentrating on the more difficult math and pleasing his father that he couldn't grasp the basics.
Take it easy. I commend you for wanting to give your child greater challenges but take it one step at a time; after all you wouldn't put a roof on a house without building the foundation first, would you?

Answer 5

There is no way you can control the actions of others. If you have explained to them what you want and they ignore you, your only choices are to not visit with them, or to let the baby learn that not all people are alike. Some are silly and some are not.

They need to be exposed to the differences in the world in order to learn to deal with it. The child will make choices that you do not approve of, just you have done. Get used to it.

Answer 6

I understand what you are talking about...i have a 4 yr. old. and I have always though we needed to talk to her ..that way her speech would be good when she went to school ..All you have to do is ask your family. If they can't respect your choices, you can either be rude about it.. and tell them flat out.."this is our child and this is what we want done for our child"...or you could let it slide with family. Its not going to hurt the baby for you talk baby talk to him/her. Not at all.---Also, dont force your child to do anything they may not be able to do. Just because you want them to read "at a higher level "than Curious George, doesnt mean they will be able to.

Answer 7

That's how I was raised, and my children are, too. They've always been advanced in their oral skills and have a large vocabulary. Raising a child is intimidating. Come up with a few general principles you'd like to teach them (for us, it's respecting others, humility, having a teachable spirit) and keep it around there. Not sure what you mean by "socially unorthadox", but don't keep them too secluded for too long. I did that and my oldest needs a little extra help in the "respecting his friends" category....good luck!

Answer 8

There is a reason we talk that way to babies, they respond better to the high pitched sounds, but by all means try inovative ways to raise your baby. Read everything mags, books, talk to doctors, shrinks, family. Then you can make informed desisions and not just be guessing.

Answer 9

I can understand stupid talk like "goo goo gaa gaa" but talking fun and high pitched is not going to hurt a child who is tiny.If you worry too much about how your going to do things than before you know it your child is grown and you missed it....enjoy them and dont be afraid to loosen up,your parents are right your going to regret it...and there is nothing wrong with not wanting a child to watch tv so you be their entertainment and fun and dont be a stick in the mud.

Answer 10

My husband and I do not talk to our daughter using babytalk. However it is not going to harm the childs intelligence or slow them down to hear the baby talk. Let the family enjoy the baby that way...if they aren't around very often don't make a big deal out of it and choose bigger issues to get upset about...

Answer 11

I had the same problem. I raised my 2 children without babytalk and not one person in my family helped me out with it. If someone in your family starts speaking "baby", tell them right at that moment to stop. If they don't, remove the child from their presence for a moment or two. After awhile hopefully they'll get the hint that it's grown up talk or they don't talk to baby at all. But in my case, nothing worked. My family and my ex's were pigheaded and refused to listen to me and my choices for raising them. So, good luck to you with your and your wife's family.